The Army Corps began working on the north side of Central, west side of the river, in mid-February. Their contractor, Stoven, began work north of Central on both sides of the river around the same time.

On the east side of the river, Stoven is focusing on treating non-native vegetation. On the west side of the river, they will be removing jetty jacks, removing and excavating a hi-flo channel that will be connected to the river, and working on “various recreation components.”

So far, the Army Corps and Stoven have focused mainly north and south of Central on the west side of the river, removing the majority of the non-native trees. However, in coordination with Open Space, they are leaving some large non-native elm and mulberry trees until some of the native vegetation that they will be planting grows taller.

They’ve also been working on removing the jetty jacks, chipped dead and down material, and starting to grub (remove the top layer of dirt) for the high flow channel north of Central. Stoven plans on completing the construction of that channel before they stop construction at the end of April for the nesting season.

Stoven will also be working on spraying the cut trees as well as the smaller resprouts with herbicide - north and south of Central as well as the Central NE quadrant.

The Army Corps would like to remind people to stay away from the construction equipment. Be aware that the equipment used to remove the non-native vegetation can throw material up to 300 feet.

If you have any questions, please contact Ondrea Hummel with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at 505-342-3375 or Ondrea.C.Hummel@usace.army.mil

This PDF on the Army Corps website provides more information.