The twisting stretch of the Pine River that runs more than 13 river miles from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam in Crosslake to the Mississippi River in Crow Wing County is both remote and pristine.
Much of the meandering channel runs through public land and is shielded from development. Kayakers paddle in peace and quiet, free of motorboat or automobile noise. Fishermen chase after walleye and silver redhorses, also known as suckers, who in turn chase fish like the least darter, the smallest fish in Minnesota. The fish are easy to spot because the water is clear. The U.S. Forest Service has identified this watershed as the most important drainage basin for protecting clean drinking water for the Twin Cities.
"When you're on this river, you only hear the river," said Melissa Barrick, district manager of the Crow Wing Soil & Water Conservation District.
It's almost perfect. Except, that is, for a crumbling rock dam.
The dam was put in a half-century ago to regulate water flow between Pine Lake and Pine River and to increase water levels in Pine Lake (also called Big Pine Lake).
It did its primary job — a slew of strategically placed boulders helped turn a wetland into a stable, shallow lake, creating valuable lakeshore real estate.
But the county-owned dam also became a decadeslong headache. Every few years seemed to bring major repairs, each time costing $15,000 to $20,000 without solving the problem. Over time, the dam grew, eventually expanding to twice its original size.
For many reasons — balancing the river's ecology and aquatic health with the needs of lakeshore property owners and recreational users of the lake and river — the county needed a permanent solution before the patched-over dam fully failed. And that begins this month with the construction of a new rock riffle dam, which will create a series of rapids used to mimic the natural processes of the stream.
