ROSEAU, Minn. – Efforts to “Reconnect the Red” by removing or modifying low head dams along the river to accommodate fish passage and improve human safety have generated much publicity in recent years, but plenty of less-heralded projects also target tributary streams across the Red River Basin. Three of the latest enhancement projects focus on the Roseau River in northwest Minnesota.
The Red River tributary, which originates in Beltrami Island State Forest, flows for 214 miles across northwest Minnesota into Canada, where it empties into the Red near Letellier, Manitoba. The first of the three projects on the Roseau River was completed in September 2023, when contractors rebuilt a rock arch rapids dam in the city of Roseau. The rebuilt structure is designed to function more effectively than the original rock arch rapids that was modified from a low head dam more than two decades ago, said Nick Kludt, Red River fisheries specialist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
The original Roseau Dam modification, completed in 2001, no longer functioned as intended, Kludt said. The rebuilt structure ensures fish in the Roseau River again have access to riverine habitat both upstream and downstream. The Roseau River is home to more than 30 fish species, the DNR says, including channel catfish, northern pike, walleyes and saugers.
ADVERTISEMENT “When you do anything for any length of time, you’re going to learn how to do it better,” Kludt said. “There were ju.
