COVINGTON TOWNSHIP — The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is teaming up with GEI Consultants of Houghton, MJO Contracting of Hancock and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) to restore the Net River Dam, which partially collapsed in 2022. 

DNR Western U.P. Field Operations Manager Bill Scullon said the dam, which regulates the water of the natural wetlands in the area, was older and unfortunately failed around four years ago.

“We had a partial failure of one of the culverts that comes out of the water supply through the dam. It was from the late 50s and it partially collapsed,” he said. “We had to drain it down to the water to make sure it was safe and then we built a bypass channel through the dam, which is currently still in place.”

The wetlands are located south of Covington to the west of U.S. 141. The area has had a long-standing partnership with KBIC, as its natural resources have been traditionally used in its community. Scullon said the KBIC has been a great, long-standing partner. 

“There’s a really important wild rice bed — that’s one of the best in the Western U.P.,” he said. “It’s located there on the state land and they’ve [KBIC] been working with us for the last decade or so to see that wild rice bed… it’s really important to their tribe.”

According to Scullon, the DNR has received state and federal funding to complete the project. It acquired the help of GEI, which handled the engineering consulting, as well as MJO, who is working on-site to restore the dam. Scullon said there are many logistical concerns with managing a wetland while restoring its dam. It has been partially drained and not at-level for the last few years. 

“Because we’re working in a wet system, if we have an extremely wet fall that could delay things,” he said. “Once we get it completed then we can back up the water and refill the settlement.”

Scullon said he hopes the efforts will be completed in the fall before the first snowfall. Restoring the wetlands is his and the DNR’s top priority. 

“The whole point here is to restore the dam and the water level within the damn impoundment so we can restore the wetland functionality that has been impacted by the fact we had to keep it de-watered for the last couple years,” he said. 

The Net River Dam restoration project is currently underway and is expected to be completed in the fall. Construction barriers are up near the entrance of the dam.