As Mississippi River`s Lake Pepin shrinks alarmingly, project will study role of ravines

Lake Pepin, the largest naturally occurring lake on the Mississippi River, is a beloved resource and important economic engine for the Wisconsin and Minnesota towns that border it.

Key Points:

• Lake Pepin is the largest naturally occurring lake on the Mississippi River. Silt, soil and clay from the landscape upstream have been filling it in at an alarming rate.
  
  
• The Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance has launched a project to examine how sediment erosion can be controlled in ravines and gullies.
  
  
• Ravines act like fast-moving highways, delivering sediment quickly into the lake.
  
  
• A retired Minnesota scientist will work with county conservationists and watershed groups to understand how to control those ravines.