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  • June

    Roger Schlough, Bonneville Lock and Dam crane operator, navigates a canoe down the Long Tom River in the Willamette Valley, June 13. Schlough floated the river with about 20 others from the Portland District, the Long Tom Watershed Council and a private citizen to get a better understanding of the challenges and issues of maintaining the channel.

    Float trip conveys canoers, concerns on Corps-altered river

    After the alterations, the Long Tom River was straighter, deeper, wider and, combined with an upstream dam, reduced flood risks to the downstream communities. In the years that followed, the Corps managed the river by balancing flood risk and environmental stewardship with less and less funding for maintenance.
  • An aerial view of flooding along the Willamette River during the Flood of 1996. The Eugene and Springfield area could look like this if Cougar Dam completely failed.

    Living with dams: deluge an ever-present possibility

    If Cougar were to completely fail, that water would rush 60 miles down the McKenzie River, washing away everything in its path, until it reached the Eugene and Springfield area. The deluge could make Eugene and Springfield look like Corvallis, Oregon City and Portland after the Flood of 1996; although no dams failed during that event. That image, and the desire to do everything possible to keep it from becoming reality, was the backdrop for a recent inspection at Cougar Dam, May 24.
  • Water from spring runoff fills Green Peter Reservoir near Sweet Home, Oregon, Apr. 12. Portland District reservoirs don’t depend on snowpack to fill. Instead, the reservoirs depend on spring and early summer rain. (Corps of Engineers photo)

    Good snowpack doesn’t ensure good water levels

    This past winter, Oregon received plenty of precipitation and snowpack was more than 170 percent of its average in some areas, according to the National Resources Conservation Service. Many people may believe this is cause for celebration in a state that has seen drought conditions during much of the past few years. And although it is good news, snowpack doesn’t mean Portland District’s reservoirs will be full throughout the summer.
  • Portland District natural resource management staff attends 2017 Natural Resources Management (NRM) Workshop.

    Rangers Join Colleagues to Ready for the Recreation Season

    In preparation for the recreation seasons, more than 350 park rangers, natural resource managers and environmental compliance coordinators gathered in Norman, Okl. For the first time in seven years, they had the opportunity to engage colleagues from across the Corps to strengthen and develop technical competencies, foster learning opportunities, and build strong communities of practice.

  • May

    Richard Benoit, Portland District dive team proponent and program manager, has been deployed for more than a year, first to Afghanistan and now to Iraq to inspect underwater tunnels and steel structures at Mosul Dam. (Corps of Engineers Photo)

    ISIS, potential dam collapse make deployment memorable

    Richard Benoit, Portland District dive team proponent and program manager, has been deployed for more than a year, first to Afghanistan and now to Iraq. This is his seventh overseas deployment, but his first to the Middle East, where he is serving as the Corps’ dive safety officer and dive safety inspector for the Mosul Dam rehabilitation and repair project.

  • February

    The Dredge Yaquina facing seaward in Vigor Shipyard’s dry dock.

    Maintaining the ships that maintain Western and Pacific shipping channels

    The Corps' dredges Essayons and Yaquina go into dry dock every winter for maintenance so they are ready when spring comes to dredge vital shipping channels in Oregon, California, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.

  • June

    KGW-TV reporter Drew Carney "interviews" Bobber the Water Safety Dog about life jackets and water safety on May 19 as part of Carney's Out & About segment on KGW’s Sunrise program.

    Dramatic plunge helps Corps focus viewers on water safety

    Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District and Oregon State Marine Board appeared live on Portland's KGW-TV to talk about water safety, explain how life jackets save lives and demonstrate different life jacket styles. One heroic team member was pushed into the Willamette River to show the effects of cold water immersion and confirm the critical job of a life jacket.
  • Col. Jose Aguilar, Portland District commander, provided an overview of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers history and mission in the Pacific Northwest. Aguilar said it’s important for Corps project teams to meet with business representatives and exchange information in an environment that balances both parties’ needs while respecting the fair contracting opportunities.

    USACE experts share how to navigate federal contracting regulations

    Businesses interested in working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had two opportunities recently to learn about future projects and how to compete for them. The industry day events were designed to introduce businesses to the government acquisition process, provide information about the tools needed to do business with the Corps, and how to improve project proposals.

  • January

    Map of cascadia subduction zone

    Don't freak out: Dams generally do well in earthquakes

    Scientists tell us the Pacific Northwest is due for another very large earthquake a – from the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Pacific coast. The historical performance of dams in seismic events has been exceptionally good. Only one concrete dam in modern history has ever failed as the result of a seismic event, mainly due to the fault running directly beneath it. Generally, concrete dams have sustained only minor damage.

  • March

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Operations and Maintenance Work Plan for fiscal year 2014 includes $1,262,000 to dredge the navigation channel used by mariners at the Port of Port Orford, Ore.

    Corps FY14 work plan provides funding for coastal dredging

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently released its Fiscal Year 2014 work plans for the Army Civil Works program. The Operation and Maintenance Plan includes nearly $15 million for maintenance dredging of the federal navigation channels used by Oregon’s small coastal ports. The plan also includes $1.2 million to dredge the Skipanon Channel, Ore., and $1.8 million to dredge the Chinook channel and Baker Bay, Wash.