Planning a party on Snake River beaches? Cops are watching you

Students planning late summer visits to popular Snake River recreation areas can expect to see law enforcement there too.

The Army Corps of Engineers wants to avoid a repeat of parties that have drawn hundreds, sometimes thousands, of young people who leave natural areas used for recreation trashed.

Many of the visitors are students at Washington State University or the University of Idaho who flock to a pair of areas near Lower Granite Dam on weekends at the start and end of school years.

Buses also are chartered from the Tri-Cities to take young people to the popular recreation sites.

In early May, Granite Point on the Snake River was littered with 800 pounds of garbage after an end-of-school gathering of college-age students, the Corps said.

The landmark granite rock formation towers over a swimming hole about six miles upstream from Lower Granite Dam.

Illia Dunes, often called the Dunes, just downstream of the same dam, was trashed in late August 2012 when more than 3,000 people visited.

The Corps reported then that litter was scattered across the riverside beach, broken bottles and beer cans were left in the water, and more trash was strewn on the parking lots and along the roadway.

It happened again in early September 2014, when 1,800 people visited the Dunes on one day, leaving it littered with trash.

In all three instances the Corps sites were closed until they could be cleaned up.

With classes set to start Monday at both universities, the Corps said law enforcement agencies will be working together to police the two party spots and encourage visitors to follow the rules and stay safe.

Law enforcement from the Washington State Patrol, state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Garfield and Whitman county sheriff’s offices will be helping the Corps.

This won’t be the best year to visit the dunes anyway.

The water levels of dams on the lower Snake River will remain about two feet above minimum-operating-pool levels through early September under a federal court order to help out migrating salmon.

The higher-than-usual water level will cover much of the beach at the dunes.

Corps officials want to remind visitors of these rules and considerations:

▪ Marijuana may not be used on federal law, including Corps land.

▪ Cliff jumping is dangerous and prohibited at Granite Point.

▪ No glass containers are allowed on the Dunes. Trash bags are available for visitors to clean up after themselves.

▪ Dunes parking is restricted to two nearby parking lots that hold 120 cars. Buses aren’t allowed park there. No parking is allowed on Almota Ferry Road, the two-lane road adjacent to the Dunes, and cars that park there may be ticketed or towed.

▪ Alcohol has not been banned at Illia Dunes or Granite Point, but the Corps is keeping that open as an option.

▪ Special-use permits are required for parties or special events on Corps property. They take about 30 days to issue.

▪ Music that unreasonably annoys other visitors is not permitted.

▪ People who are boisterous, rowdy, disorderly or otherwise disturb the peace may be asked to leave.

This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 12:42 PM.