Photo By Nicole Celestine | Image of map showing recreational areas Albeni Falls Dam project handles. USACE...... read more read more
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announce the temporary closure of Springy Point Recreation Area and reduced services at several other USACE-managed facilities on Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille River for the upcoming summer season.
The closure at Springy Point takes effect May 10, and includes the campground, restrooms, beach and boat ramp. It will remain in place until further notice.
These changes do not affect properties owned by USACE but managed by Idaho Department of Fish and Game, such as the Driftyard, Morton Slough and Johnson Creek.
USACE made the decision to close and reduce services at several areas with visitor safety and resource protection as its top priorities. Limited Natural Resource Management staff impacts providing routine maintenance and sanitary conditions and delivering emergency response capabilities essential for a positive and safe visitor experience.
“The Corps of Engineers is experiencing various challenges providing its standard level of public service this year,” said Albeni Falls Dam Natural Resources Chief Taylor Johnson. “Because our visitors’ well-being is our top priority, we’re reducing services and closing designated recreation areas to ensure our staff can provide safe experiences for everyone. Limiting the number of sites our staff need to monitor and manage will help with this,” said Johnson.
The following recreation areas are impacted:
Vista Recreation Area: Open year-round. Visitor Center open 7 days/week starting Memorial Day. Reduced Visitor Center hours.
Albeni Cove Recreation Area: Opens May 17. Reduced janitorial services.
Priest River Recreation Area: Opens May 17. Reduced janitorial services.
Riley Creek Recreation Area: Opens May 10. One restroom closure, reduced picnic shelter availability, reduced janitorial services.
Springy Point Recreation Area: Closed for the season.
Albeni Falls Dam relies on temporary seasonal employees and volunteer campground hosts to supplement its permanent staff during the peak recreation season (May – September).
Permanent staff provides critical maintenance and visitor assistance through enforcing Title 36 to ensure facilities are safe and in good upkeep for the public to enjoy.
Limited staff impacts USACE’s ability to provide services required for the upcoming recreational season. This affects campground and visitor center operations, powerhouse tours, janitorial services and general maintenance.
Any unforeseen major maintenance could result in closures due to lack of adequate staffing.
All interpretation, public outreach events and water safety education activities are cancelled, impacting nearly 5,000 visitors (Fiscal Year 2023/2024 average). USACE estimates over $17 million is generated in the local economy as a result of the 450,000 visitors who recreate at USACE-managed facilities around Lake Pend Oreille.
“We recognize these closures may be disruptive but want to remind the public that preparation is important. Please plan your trip and check to see if there are additional restrictions or safety alerts,” said Johnson.
Visitors are encouraged to check their local recreation area's website by searching www.recreation.gov and follow USACE on social media, for the latest site-specific updates.
Those with existing reservations at Springy Point will be contacted directly and receive full refunds.
USACE is working diligently to address its staffing challenges and aims to reopen the affected campgrounds as soon as it is feasible to do so safely and effectively.
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| Date Taken: | 04.29.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2025 12:51 |
| Story ID: | 496470 |
| Location: | OLDTOWN, IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Campground Closures Take Effect May 10, by Nicole Celestine, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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