PORTLAND, Ore. -- 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, Corps navigation planners announced Friday.

Portland District dams with locks include John Day Dam, near Rufus, Ore.; The Dalles Dam, near The Dalles, Ore.; and Bonneville Dam, near Cascade Locks, Ore. The summer recreational vessel lockage schedule is shown to the right.

The lockage schedule is the same for eight Corps dams in Portland and Walla Walla districts, ensuring identical recreational vessel lockage schedules for the entire Columbia-Snake river system.

This schedule will remain in effect until Sept. 15. Recreational vessel operators have precedence over commercial vessels during the designated times. At other times, recreational vessels may be allowed to lock through with commercial craft at the discretion of the lockmaster.

    Lockages outside the scheduled times will be considered for flotillas or other organized events sponsored by yacht clubs, marinas and other groups, provided 24-hour advance arrangements are made with the appropriate location.

All vessel owners and operators lock through at their own risk and must comply with the Corps’ safe-lockage policy. Portland District’s navigation information and the brochure "How to Lock Through" is available at: http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation.aspx.

In Walla Walla District, navigation lock facilities are available at McNary Dam, near Umatilla, Ore.; Ice Harbor Dam, near Burbank, Wash.; Lower Monumental Dam, near Kahlotus, Wash.; Little Goose Dam, near Starbuck, Wash.; and Lower Granite Dam, near Pomeroy, Wash. Walla Walla District’s recreational vessel lockage schedule is on the Internet at http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation.aspx.   

The Corps’ Portland and Walla Walla districts maintain about 350 miles of the federal navigation channel from Portland, Ore. to Lewiston, Idaho. Ten million tons of commercial cargo, valued at $1.5 to $2 billion, is transported each year, according to navigation industry data. The Columbia-Snake navigation system is part of a larger waterborne commerce system that is vital to the economic health of the Pacific Northwest. This import \ export gateway allows river transport 465 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean to Lewiston, Idaho.