Northwestern Minnesota flood control project is boon to birds

Published On: Aug 26 2012 08:27:14 PM CDT   Updated On: Aug 26 2012 08:20:45 PM CDT
WARREN, Minn. (AP) -

A flood-control project in northwestern Minnesota is having a benefit that water managers never anticipated.

The Grand Forks Herald reports the four-square mile Agassiz Valley Water Resource Management Project has become a haven for birds -- and the people who watch them.

The impoundment is designed to control the flow of water from the Snake River during flooding. It can store more than 10,000 acre-feet of water during floods and holds about 800 acre-feet during normal water levels in pools ranging from 3 feet to 40 feet deep.

The wetland soon will be the newest stop on the Pine to Prairie International Birding Trail. The trail markets more than 45 bird-watching destinations from Warroad to Fergus Falls in northwestern Minnesota and extends northward into Manitoba.

  • Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.