Home / Media / News Releases

News Releases

  • 9,200 buckets later, Corps dredging halfway complete at Gold Beach

    A giant bucket – the size of a 1970s Volkswagen bus – swings through the air after it gobbles up 20 cubic yards of gravel blocking (shoaling-in) access to parts of the Port of Gold Beach, Ore. The small community on the southern coast, where the Rogue River meets the Pacific Ocean, doesn’t have much, but it has a port that sees upwards of 35,000 visitors per year for jet boat tours and averages 75-100 fishing boats a day, according to port officials.

  • Port managers, Army engineers agree to $2.1 million study

    Leadership from the Ports of Longview and Kalama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have agreed to fund an estimated $2.1 million study. The study will investigate what changes or improvements engineers can make to turning basins in the Columbia River to help larger, deeper-drafting vessels, safely navigate when turning.

  • Commerce flows normally after Army engineers repair John Day Lock

    Commerce is now moving normally along the Columbia River and through John Day Lock after Army engineers completed repairs to damaged guide wheels by 12:30 p.m., August 5. Technicians originally discovered damage to a lower guide wheel on July 25, which initially closed the lock, and then slowed traffic at that point in the river.

  • Heat wave fuels needless drownings, boating deaths in Oregon

    Drownings and boating-related deaths needlessly continue claiming lives in Oregon, recently fueled by a heat wave. The Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) reported 19 boating-related fatalities in 2021 and the Oregon Health Authority recorded 57 drownings in natural waters in 2020, which is 160% increase from 2019 (35 drownings). Life jackets may have prevented many of these deaths.

  • Damage closes John Day Lock, slows Columbia River traffic

    A broken portion of John Day Lock and Dam’s upstream navigation lock gate has slowed river traffic through that portion of the Columbia River.

  • Hydropower offers stability during heat waves

    Hydropower dams do not produce emissions like fossil-fuel burning resources, making the Northwest’s power system the cleanest in the nation. Dams can also ramp up and down within minutes or seconds, making them very nimble and flexible during heat waves and cold snaps.

  • Through groundbreaking consultation, Corps signs programmatic agreement to protect Willamette Valley’s cultural, historic resources

    The Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and partners have finalized an agreement that will enhance the protection of historic and cultural resources across the Willamette Valley while carrying out critical Corps projects.

  • Corps to provide update on drastically improved water year for Rogue Basin

    Army water managers for the Rogue River Basin will hold a public virtual information session June 8, 2-2:30 p.m., to share the improved summer conservation season outlook for the basin.

  • The Dalles Dam Visitor Center reopens for summer season

    The Dalles Dam Visitor Center reopened to the public May 27. Operating hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday, through the end of August.

  • Corps updates Safe Lockage Policy for recreational vessels on Columbia, Snake rivers

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has put the following guidelines in place for the continued safe passage of recreational craft through the navigation locks at McNary, John Day, The Dalles, and Bonneville dams on the Columbia River, and Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams on the Snake River: