PULLMAN, Wash. – After significant cleanup during the past week, the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reopened the Granite Point recreation area on the lower Snake River today.
The popular area near Lower Granite Lock and Dam had been closed to the public since May 2 due to health and safety concerns after a day of heavy partying on Friday, Apr. 27. It took the Corps more than a week to clean up the trash and remove the vandalism in the affected area.
After announcing the closure of Granite Point, the Corps received offers of cleanup assistance from Washington State University and University of Idaho students, and Corps officials expressed appreciation for help with the clean-up effort.
“Yesterday, an organized group of more than 25 student volunteers from Washington State University (WSU) and the University of Idaho (U of I) helped cleanup Granite Point. The Corps would like to thank students from WSU and U of I who participated in the May 10 cleanup. We continue to ask visitors to help keep the Granite Point area and other Corps ‘pack in in, pack it out’ recreation areas and wildlife units clean,” Corps officials said.
Overall, more than 800 pounds of trash were removed from the recreational area.
Going forward, Corps staff will monitor Granite Point visitors’ actions, such as “pack it in, pack it out” removal of trash. The Corps provides free bags for trash collection and removal. The Corps will also monitor how well visitors keep glass containers off the beach at all times, consume alcohol responsibly, use provided restrooms, preserve the natural landscape on Corps lands, and enjoy their visit without breaking any laws or offending other visitors. In this way, visitors will help determine future recreational usage of the area.
Future options available to the Corps include an alcohol ban. Alcohol is currently allowed to be consumed at Granite Point by visitors in a responsible manner, but can be prohibited by the Corps.
More information about Walla Walla District recreation opportunities is available on the District website at
http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation.aspx.
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U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS – WALLA WALLA DISTRICT
509-527-7020 cenww-pa@usace.army.mil www.nww.usace.army.mil