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  • 17-068 Canyon Creek Road repaired, and campground and boat ramp now open

    AHSAHKA, Idaho – Canyon Creek Road access to Dworshak Reservoir has been re-opened after road repairs, and the Canyon Creek Campground and Boat Ramp are now open and accessible by visitors. A rock and mud landslide on Canyon Creek Road this spring forced closure of the road leading to the popular recreation area. For safety, visitors are advised that there are logging operations occurring adjacent to the recreation area.

  • 17-067 Significant river debris within Little Goose Dam juvenile fish bypass system screens cause fish loss during this year’s unusually high river flows

    DAYTON, Wash. – Significant river debris caused by unusually high Snake River flows damaged vertical barrier fish screens (VBS) in Little Goose Lock and Dam’s juvenile bypass system (JBS). Several damaged VBS screens entrapped juvenile steelhead and salmon between the VBS mesh and metal “porosity plates,” which control the flow of water.” Debris damage caused 1,800 juvenile fish to perish as they were exposed to excessively turbulent water conditions. Of those 1,800 fish lost, 1,438 were hatchery steelhead. About 10 million juvenile fish migrate downstream this time of year at Little Goose.

  • 17-066 Ice Harbor Dam’s navigation lock slated for 10-hour closure May 16

    BURBANK, Wash. – Ice Harbor Dam's navigation lock, located at Snake River Mile 9.7 near Burbank, Washington, will be temporarily out of service on Tuesday, May 16, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials in the Walla Walla District.

  • 17-065 McNary Dam hosts free fishing derby for kids on Saturday

    UMATILLA, Ore. – Young anglers are invited to a free fishing derby at McNary Lock and Dam on Saturday, May 20, from 10 a.m. to noon. This annual derby is co-sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The event will take place at Fountain and Experimental Ponds, located within the nature area near McNary Dam. There is no cost to participate.

  • 17-064 Corps issues FONSI for Tetonia Water System Improvements Project

    TETONIA, Idaho – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District issued a final Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Tetonia, Idaho, Water System Improvements Project.

  • 17-063 Summer recreational vessel lockage schedule begins May 15

    WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Monday, May 15, marks the start of the summer schedule for recreational boaters using navigation locks to travel past U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers, according to Corps navigation planners.

  • 17-062 Corps seeks public input for Mill Creek Project O&M SEIS; Public scoping meeting scheduled for May 24

    WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District (Corps) invites public scoping comments for the Mill Creek Project Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). The Corps is proposing to prepare the SEIS to the 1975 Mill Creek Project Final Environmental Impact Statement.

  • 17-061 Corps districts team up to provide sandbags and “super sacks” to Idaho Office of Emergency Management for flood response

    BOISE, Idaho – Two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts teamed up to provide flood-fight resources to help the Idaho Office of Emergency Management (IOEM) respond to flooding in local areas. Walla Walla District Emergency management personnel are providing 100,000 “regular” sandbags to IOEM, and also coordinated with the Corps’ Seattle District to provide 1,000 larger “super sacks.” Both the sandbags and super sacks are being sent to IOEM at Gowan Field in Boise.While regular sandbags weigh about 30 pounds when filled with sand, and can be carried by one person, the larger super sacks being deployed hold 1.4-cubic yards of sand and must be moved by heavy equipment such as a front end loader after being filled. Each 1.4-cubic yard super sack is equal to more than 200 regular sandbags. When filled with sand, 1.4-cubic-yard super sacks weigh about 5,000 pounds.

  • 17-060 Corps sends technical assistance team to evaluate flood risk in Idaho’s Blaine County

    BLAINE COUNTY, Idaho – A three-person team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District Headquarters deployed today to provide technical assistance to Blaine County emergency managers as they respond to high flow conditions in the Snake River there, according to Corps emergency management officials at the District headquarters in Walla Walla, Washington.

  • 17-059 Fish loss at Little Goose Dam caused by significant river debris during this year’s unusually high flows

    DAYTON, Wash. – A juvenile bypass system orifice at Little Goose Lock and Dam became plugged early yesterday because of abnormally high seasonal debris from the lower Snake River, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials. The inadvertent orifice plugging caused an estimated 2,240 juvenile salmon and steelhead to perish. Millions of juvenile fish migrate downstream this time of year at Little Goose.