The Pine River Fish Passage Project mission was to repair the rock dam and restore fish passage, but there is more to it than just that.

“It extends to the land,” said Lead Project Manager Beth Hippert. “It builds vegetation both above and underneath the ground around the river.”

The five-rock weir structure was put into place over the winter.

“It is fairly maintenance free and it does what we want it to do,” said Lead Engineer Bill Westerberg. “Each one of those rock structures has an angle that forces the water away from the bank and back into the middle of the river, allowing for more water flow and less stress on the river banks.”

According to Hippert, just because the construction happened in the water, it does not mean those things out of the water aren’t benefiting, too.

“The vegetation, the animals that have better access to water and food now,” Hippert said. “Remember this is vacationland, kayakers, fisherman will benefit from this, and if you live on the river, this will help too economically.”

If you would like to see the full start-to-finish video of the construction, click here.

By — Nick Ursini