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PENNINGTON -- A restoration project officials say will greatly benefit both people and aquatic wildlife along the Mississippi River and area lakes was officially unveiled here Thursday.

The Knutson Dam Improvement Project in Pennington included the removal of the old dam and replacing it with rock-arch rapids. That will improve water flow and the habitats for fish and other aquatic species between Cass Lake and Lake Winnibigoshish.

鈥淭here are many benefits to the removal of the previous dam and the construction: directly, we鈥檒l be able to enhance over 30 miles of the river and enhance 72,000 acres of lake habitat between Cass and Winnie,鈥� said Darla Lenz, Chippewa National Forest Supervisor, in a speech on Thursday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 vital to our local economies, vital to our aquatic ecosystems, certainly vital to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and vital to the drinking water and other benefits that are provided to the public from here to the Gulf of Mexico.鈥�

Before the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, awards were presented to the partners of the project: the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Otter Tail Power and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 have done this work without our partners, and it鈥檚 really been a cooperative effort along the way,鈥� Lenz said.

Amanda Hillman, a stream resource coordinator with the DNR, added that 鈥渇unding came from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. This is our taxpayer dollars at work and they鈥檙e funding great projects like this one.鈥�

Costs for the Knutson Dam Improvement Project total about $1.2 million.

Constructed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Knutson Dam was transferred to the Forest Service in 1926, according to the U.S. Forest Service website.

The restoration project was given the Collaborative Aquatic Stewardship Award from the U.S. Forest Service for 鈥渢he significance of the project in terms of the design, the impacts but also because of the creativity in pulling together the partnerships,鈥� Lenz said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see this project happening in an area on this scale in the state of Minnesota,鈥� said Tony Standera, fisheries specialist with the Division of Fish and Wildlife at the DNR. 鈥淗opefully this will be the first of many to come.鈥�

1/5: Chippewa National Forest Supervisor Darla Lenz speaks during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Knutson Dam on Thursday at the Knutson Dam Campground. (Jillian Gandsey | Bemidji Pioneer)

2/5: A ribbon cutting ceremony for the Knutson Dam after it was replaced was held on Thursday at the Knutson Dam Campground. (Jillian Gandsey | Bemidji Pioneer)

3/5: From left: Todd Langston, of Otter Tail Power Co., Steve Mortenson, Minnesota DNR, Darla Lenz, Supervisor of the Chippewa National Forest, and Rich Robinson, of Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Knutson Dam. (Jillian Gandsey | Bemidji Pioneer)

4/5: A brace of mergansers swim together on Thursday near the Knutson Dam in Pennington. (Jillian Gandsey | Bemidji Pioneer)

5/5: Two mergansers swim in the Knutson Dam area on Thursday in Pennington. (Jillian Gandsey | Bemidji Pioneer)