POMEROY, Wash. – Visitors at Lower Granite Lock and Dam can get behind-the-scenes tours of the powerhouse, navigation lock and fish passage facilities – areas ordinarily off-limits to public access, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announced today.
“These tours offer a phenomenal view of the one of the highest navigation locks in the world, as well as the hydropower and fish passage systems, and how they all work together,” said Chris Lorz, Lower Granite’s lead park ranger. “A tour highlight is the Removable Spillway Weir – a 2-million-pound ‘waterslide’ for fish which won a national engineering award in 2003.”
Tours begin at the visitor center on the south side of the Snake River. The highway running across the dam is open for public crossing daily, making it more convenient for people coming from Pullman and Moscow to get to the visitor center.
Tours are offered Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. through Nov. 16. Tours can also be scheduled by appointment on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Call the Visitor Center for details at 509-843-1493, ext. 262 or 211, or e-mail a request to ClarkstonNaturalResources@usace.army.mil.
All participants must be U.S. citizens, unless pre-registered at least 30 days in advance. Non-U.S. citizens can pre-register by calling Lower Granite’s park ranger at 509-843-1493, ext 262.
All tour participants should check in at the Visitor Center 10-15 minutes early with government-issued photo identification and wearing closed-toe shoes. No cameras, camera-enabled phones or bags will be allowed in secure areas.
For more information, call the Lower Granite Lock and Dam Visitor Center at 509-843-1493, ext. 211, or stop by the visitor center, open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Release no. 13-038