Portage Creek Fish Passage Restoration

The Portage Creek Dam is currently a barrier to fish migration between Portage Lake and Leech Lake. This low head dam prevents walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and other important forage species from migrating to and from both lakes during critical spawning periods. In addition to fish passage, this dam is accelerating lakeshore erosion on Portage Lake due to the unnatural control of water levels in the lake. In recent years, 50% of the lakeshore are been impacted due to erosion caused by alterations of water elevations in the lake. The existing low head dam will be removed and replaced with a fixed crest control that will promote fish passage for all species. Grade control will consist of a series of rock weirs designed to slow water velocity and allow fish to migrate upstream.