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  • Mill Creek Office parking lot closure to occur Sept. 27

    WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Work to resurface and expand areas of the Mill Creek Office parking lot will require a temporary closure of the lot on Thursday, Sept. 27, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announced today.

  • Dworshak Reservoir life jacket loaner board vandalized

    AHSAHKA, Idaho – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park rangers at Dworshak Dam and Reservoir need help obtaining information about recent damage to a life jacket loaner board located near Boat Ramp-2 at Bruces Eddy Recreation Area.

  • Corps seeks National Public Lands Day volunteers to improve Mill Creek trails

    WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Volunteers can join forces with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park rangers at Mill Creek Dam and Bennington Lake located in Walla Walla, Wash., as they honor National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

  • ‘On-request’ lockage service begins Sept. 16 for boaters on Snake, Columbia rivers

    WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Beginning Sunday, Sept. 16, recreational boaters can lock past U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers almost any time during daylight hours, officials with the Corps’ Walla Walla District announced.

  • Mill Creek, Rooks Park require intermittent closures of south levee trail and Diversion Dam forebay area

    WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mill Creek Project is continuing intermittent closures on the south levee trail Mondays through Fridays until Friday, Sept. 14, to remove temporary barriers and piping installed during in-stream concrete weir improvements. The Corps will also close a small portion of the east end of Rooks Park adjacent to the Mill Creek Diversion Dam forebay area for construction beginning Monday, Sept. 10, and planned to end by Friday, Sept. 14. However, both construction areas will be open on weekends.

  • Update 2: Illia Dunes recreation area re-opened today; Visitor actions will be monitored; those actions help determine future usage

    POMEROY, Wash. – After significant cleanup during the past week, the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers re-opened Illia Dunes recreation area on the Lower Snake River today. The popular area near Lower Granite Lock and Dam had been closed to the public since Aug. 27 due to health and safety concerns after heavy visitation and trash accumulation occurred the weekend of Aug. 25 and 26.

  • Update: Corps continues Illia Dunes trash cleanup

    POMEROY, Wash. – The Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is making progress on cleanup of Illia Dunes recreation area on the Snake River. The area was closed to public use on Monday due to health and safety concerns after heavy visitation and trash accumulation occurring this past weekend. More than 3,000 people visited the popular recreation area Aug. 25 and 26. Many broken bottles and beer cans were left in the water, garbage was strewn about the parking lots, and litter was discarded along the roadway. Corps staff and a grounds maintenance contractor have cleaned most of the trash from the beach area at Illia Dunes. About 3,000 pounds of trash have been removed as of today including hundreds of Styrofoam coolers. Trash still needs to be removed from the in-water area of the dunes, plus three miles of ditch between Illia Dunes and Lower Granite Dam.

  • Corps stresses safety during Labor Day holiday weekend

    WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- As the nation's largest federal provider of water-based recreation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stresses water safety and urges extra caution while in or around water during the upcoming Labor Day holiday. Many people enjoy water-based recreation as part of their Labor Day celebration. Outdoors enthusiasts can enjoy scenic river views while taking advantage of picnicking, camping, fishing, boating and swimming opportunities. Here are some water safety tips for the holiday weekend.

  • Illia Dunes closed until further notice due to visitors’ trash

    POMEROY, Wash. – Illia Dunes is closed until further notice due to health and safety concerns after recent heavy visitation and trash accumulation, Corps officials announced today. During the past weekend, more than 3,000 people visited the dunes, a popular recreation site located at Snake River Mile 102 on the south shoreline about three miles downstream of Lower Granite Lock and Dam. Enormous amounts of trash were scattered on the beach, broken bottles and beer cans left in the water, refuse strewn about the parking lots and litter discarded along the roadway, creating potential health and safety hazards for future visitors.

  • McNary Dam offers Washington Fish View Room, NavLock tours during September

    The natural resources management staff at McNary Lock and Dam will offer tours of the Washington Fish View Room and the navigation lock on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m., beginning Saturday, Sept. 1, through Sunday Sept. 30, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials at the dam announced today.