VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District’s Sardis and Grenada lakes have canceled their Fish Habitat Day events scheduled for Feb. 22 and 29, respectively.
The events have been canceled due to increased lake elevations from recent rainfall. Flood control structures at Sardis, Grenada and Enid lakes, three of the district’s four flood control reservoirs in the Yazoo Basin, were closed Feb. 10 to store excess rainfall, or runoff. The reservoirs’ gates are expected to open within the next three-to-five days.
The district currently has no plans to reschedule the Sardis and Grenada Fish Habitat Day events. The Enid and Arkabutla lake Fish Habitat Day events were held Feb. 1 and 8, respectively.
Each year on Fish Habitat Day, district park rangers, natural resources specialists and volunteers construct and place fish shelters from discarded trees, wooden stakes and other material. These shelters help restore fishes’ natural habitat and provide recreation for visitors to the lakes. Fish Habitat Day is held in the winter because the typically lower lake levels expose mudflats and provide open spaces to create new fish habitats.
Arkabutla, Enid, Sardis and Grenada lakes, the four Mississippi flood control reservoirs in the Vicksburg District’s area of responsibility, were authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936, which provided a plan designed to address flooding that originated in the Yazoo Basin. The four reservoirs are used to hold runoff, or excess rainwater, as a flood-prevention measure. With approximately 3.2 million visitors each year, the north Mississippi lakes also contribute approximately $82 million into the local economy.
Release no. 20-017