Peace Garden News

DUNN CENTER, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today met with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) representatives, Dunn County Commissioners, state legislators and ranchers to discuss the seepage at Lake Ilo dam and its effects on area stakeholders. The FWS is keeping Ilo Reservoir at a low level to prevent increased seepage into a nearby coal seam, which threatens the integrity of the spillway. Currently, USFWS plans to start the bidding process for repairing the reservoir this November, with work being completed by October 1, 2024, after which the lake will be refilled.

Hoeven held the meeting as part of his efforts to press USFWS to expedite the repairs and mitigate the impacts on local landowners, sportsmen and ranchers as soon as possible, while ensuring the integrity of the dam and the safety of the surrounding area. In particular, the senator stressed that, due to the water releases:

• Ranchers upstream are facing dwindling water supplies.
• Lands downstream are having issues with flooding.
• Weed growth has increased substantially downstream.
• The reservoir’s fish population is dying off in large numbers.

“Safety of the dam is a vital concern, but the draining of the lake has had real effects on landowners, resulting in a lack of water upstream and flooding downstream, while harming the lake’s fish population and limiting opportunities for sportsmen,” said Hoeven. “The Fish and Wildlife Service needs to enhance its collaboration with neighboring private landowners who are impacted by the water management decisions at Lake Ilo. At the same time, we will continue pressing the agency to expedite the repairs so the lake can be safely brought back to normal levels and re-stocked as quickly as possible.”

Original source can be found here.