Dams

Over the coming years, Twin Citians will face a momentous decision: Should we remove dams on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis and St. Paul?

FMR staff and River Guardians are actively engaged in this issue. Updates are below. We recommend learning more in this overview if you're new to this issue.

Dams
Lock & Dam Study Public Engagement Events (Fall 2022)
October 5, 2022
Attend a series of events hosted by the Army Corps of Engineers as they begin their disposition study for two Twin Cities locks and dams. Read more
Image of Lower St. Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam No. 1
It's time: Comment on the lock & dam disposition study
September 22, 2022
Use this form to comment on the Army Corps' disposition study of two Twin Cities locks and dams. Read more
Image of Lock and Dam No. 1
What you need to know about the Army Corps' studies of Twin Cities locks and dams
September 20, 2022
What will happen to metro locks and dams? Here's a rundown of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers disposition study process and timeline, the scenarios under consideration, plus ways you can shape the river's future. Read more
The case for and against lock and dam removal
September 20, 2022
Removing two metro locks and dams would reconnect 39 miles of river through the Mississippi's only gorge, which is in the heart of the Twin Cities. But is dam removal the best scenario for our metro river? Here's what we need to consider. Read more
Drawdown
Meet our Twin Cities locks and dams
September 14, 2022
See a map of our three Twin Cities locks and dams, a timeline of when and why they were built, and find out why we may not need them anymore. Read more
All three Twin Cities locks and dams
What we heard on this summer's lock and dam tours
by Colleen O'Connor Toberman
August 8, 2022
This summer, FMR and our partners talked with over 600 community members about the future of our Twin Cities locks and dams. We led more than than 20 focus-group tours that brought many people to the river in new ways. Here's what we heard. Read more
Join us for lock and dam focus-group tours this summer
by Colleen O'Connor Toberman
May 1, 2022

We're about to begin a big study to consider the future of two locks and dams in the heart of the Twin Cities.

We're co-hosting free bike, kayak, boat cruise and walking tours this summer to help community members learn more about the future possibilities for our metro river. >>

Read more

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Upcoming Events

Red cedar lopping at the Hastings Sand Coulee SNA
Saturday, April 29, 2023 - 9:00am to 11:00am
Hastings Sand Coulee Scientific and Natural Area
Invasive plant pull on Nicollet Island
Saturday, May 13, 2023 - 9:00am to 11:00am
Nicollet Island, Minneapolis
Apply to be a 2023 ESI mentor
Applications due Fri, May 5 - 5 pm
Virtual and in-person

See all Upcoming Events