Dredging & Beneficial Use

Green Bay links 180,000 cubic yards of dredging to Cat Island placement

Published 18 August 2026 Publisher IMWO Region Americas Confidence Confirmed
Open beach and encroaching vegetation at Longtail Point on Green Bay, two miles north of Cat Island, illustrating the local habitat-management setting

Photo: Joshua Martinez / Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, via USFWS (public domain, 2025); Longtail Point, two miles north of Cat Island, not a photograph of the 2026 dredging works

USACE's 18 August navigation notice describes approximately 180,000 cubic yards of maintenance dredging from the federal channel north of Cat Island, with material placed at Cat Island. Work started around 15 August and was expected to run to about 15 October. That gives shipping interests a location, sediment destination and working window, but not a contractor name, contract price or accepted completion quantity.

The navigation notice defines an active channel and placement route

Chicago District notice 214907 dates the campaign and ties channel removal to Cat Island placement. Its effective banner runs from 15 August to 17 October, while the work description anticipates an approximate 15 October finish. The October 2025 harbour factsheet supplies a wider maintenance baseline; USACE's 2023 habitat report explains why the placement site also has a conservation role.

The disposal route is part of the navigation programme

Green Bay's federal channel serves the Fox River mouth through more than 14 miles of maintained waterway. The 2025 factsheet describes roughly 200,000 cubic yards of annual maintenance demand and placement at either Bay Port or Cat Island. This campaign's named destination matters: the latter facility rebuilds an island chain using clean dredged sediment and supports nesting habitat. Dredging production, placement logistics and seasonal restrictions are consequently connected, rather than independent workstreams. USFWS's August 2025 account records 68 wild-hatched chicks fledged at Cat Island since nesting resumed in 2016, a historical habitat benefit rather than a result attributable to the 2026 work.

Evidence conclusion

Accepted depths and final quantities need separate records

The announced 180,000 cubic yards is campaign scope, not a certified removed volume. Likewise, the October finish is an expectation, not a navigation release or measured post-dredge depth. The older factsheet describes an August 16 to March 14 dredging and Cat Island placement window; the new notice uses an approximate August 15 start. Those different document dates and purposes do not establish a permit breach or a revised permit. Current operating conditions, hydrographic surveys and placement records would resolve the actual timing and delivery. USACE's earlier plover coverage explains the environmental interface without proving this campaign's habitat outcome.

Outstanding evidence

  • Current permitted dredging and placement conditions
  • Progress notice and changes to the approximate October window
  • Post-dredge hydrography and accepted removal quantities
  • Cat Island placement volumes and habitat monitoring

Related records 1

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