Tern island construction using clean dredged material

On February 21, 2006, the Oklahoma ES Field Office received notification from the Tulsa District, Corps of Engineers that construction had begun on a nesting island for Interior least terns in the Arkansas River Navigation System.  This is the first of several such islands to be constructed as part of the deepening of the system from nine to twelve feet.  Clean dredged material is used for island construction, as provided for in a Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act report and an ESA section 7 biological opinion provided to the Corps during FY 2005.  A number of additional habitat improvement features have been incorporated into project plans as well.