Home / Media / News Stories

  • March

    30th annual Kids’ Fishing Derby kicks off April 21

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The ever-popular Kids’ Fishing Derby celebrates its 30th year April 21 at the Blue Hole Recreation Area on Russell Lake in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina. Participants must be 15 years old or younger to fish in the netted cove purposefully stocked with fish for the derby.

  • February

    The Dredge Padre Island discharges one of the last loads of material dredged from the outer Savannah harbor to mark the end of deepening for the oceanside of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP). The Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages the expansion of the Savannah harbor. The deepening of the outer channel marks another major milestone in the $973 million project to deepen the harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet. Approximately 12 million cubic yards of material were removed to make this portion of the shipping channel deeper. The outer channel deepening was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Billy Birdwell.

    Corps of Engineers completes deepening of Savannah harbor’s entrance channel

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, today marked the end of

  • Corps targeting applicants for spring turkey hunts at Thurmond

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host two turkey hunts in the Bussey Point Management Area in the spring of 2018. The management area will be opened to all hunters on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31. On Saturday, April 7 the Corps will host a youth hunt. Hunts will be limited to 10 individuals daily. Hunters who are selected may bring a guide or guest. The guest will not be allowed to carry a weapon.

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers publishes request for proposals for beneficial use of dredged materials

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today published in the Federal Register its request for proposals for beneficial use of dredged material pilot projects pursuant to Section 1122 of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016, Beneficial Use of Dredged Material.

  • CSS Georgia ironclad recovery to be featured at Gray’s Reef Film Festival 2018

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – A documentary on the recovery of the Civil War ironclad CSS Georgia by Savannah’s own Michael Jordan will make its debut as part of the three-day Gray’s Reef Film Festival. The festival, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, will feature several family-friendly films at Savannah-area venues.

  • Corps temporarily closes MaryAnn Branch Boat Ramp at Lake Hartwell

    SAVANNAH, GEORGIA – The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Hartwell Project Office will temporarily close the MaryAnn Branch Boat Ramp in Hart Co., GA beginning 12 February 2018 to perform parking area and traffic flow improvements. The ramp is expected to be closed for approximately four weeks with an estimated re-opening date of 9 March 2018, weather permitting.

  • January

    Before: This 2016 file photo shows the Back River tide gates before removal. The removal of the tide returned the Back River to its natural width, removed an obstruction in the river and helped mitigate for the upcoming deepening of Savannah harbor. After: Tide gates between Hutchison Island in the Savannah River and the South Carolina shoreline have been removed as another mitigation step to allow for the deepening of the Savannah harbor. The gates also narrowed the channel. The Army Corps of Engineers removed the gates’ supporting structure under a $21.3 million contract that also created a sill along Hutchinson Island. The removal and the sill creation also enhanced fish habitat in this popular area. The photos depict the Back River before and after tide gate removal. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photos) Original high resolution photos (separated, without embedded titles) available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/savannahcorps/albums/72157676133450232.

    Removal of tide gate in back river moves SHEP closer to completion

    The removal of a 1970s-era structure from the Savannah River’s Back River marks another major milestone in the deepening of the nation’s fourth busiest container port. It also returns the Back River to its natural width to enhance the area for fish habitat.

  • December

    Some user fees to rise for three areas at Thurmond Lake

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Beginning Jan. 1, 2018, some user fees will rise at one boat ramp and two primitive

  • Hartwell Lake seeks used Christmas trees for fish attractors

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Hartwell Lake Project Office will accept natural Christmas trees (no artificial trees) for recycling Dec. 26, 2017, through Jan. 25, 2018.

  • Thurmond Lake to accept used Christmas trees as fish attractors

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers at the J. Strom Thurmond Project will accept real Christmas trees for recycling Dec. 20 through Jan. 11. Artificial trees will not be accepted. The Christmas trees can be dropped off at Riverside Middle School, located in Evans, Georgia. All decorations – tinsel, lights, garland, bulbs, etc. – must be removed from the trees before dropping them off. Dumping of wireframe wreaths, yard debris, and household trash at the site is strictly prohibited.

  • Last phase of outer harbor deepening begins; SHEP moves farther

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – A massive dredging effort began Dec. 1 to push through the final phase of the outer channel deepening for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, commonly called SHEP. Up to five hopper dredges have been committed to the effort, each working 24-hour shifts to complete the deepening of the channel and the 7-mile seaward extension of the SHEP during the current environmental window which will close in the spring.

  • November

    Corps sets dates for youth waterfowl hunts at Russell Lake

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District will conduct five youth waterfowl hunts at the Richard B. Russell Lake Nov. 25, Dec. 9, Dec. 23, 2017; and Jan. 6 and Jan 20, 2018 (dates subject to change). Three slots will be available at each hunt for youth hunters ages 9 to 15.

  • Clarks Hill Park boat ramp and parking area to close for improvements

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The boat ramp and parking area in the Clarks Hill Park on Thurmond Lake in McCormick County, South Carolina, will close Nov. 13 – Dec. 15 for major improvements. Picnic areas and beaches in the park will remain open.

  • Corps temporarily closes Hatton’s Ford boat ramp at Lake Hartwell for improvements

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Hartwell Lake Project Office will temporarily close the Hatton’s Ford Boat Ramp in Anderson County, South Carolina, on Nov. 8, to expand and improve the boat ramp approach and parking area. Officials expect the closure will take approximately two weeks. The ramp should reopen on Nov. 22, weather permitting.

  • October

    Updated biological opinion has positive impact on Savannah Harbor deepening

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Two changes to the biological opinion associated with the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project give the Army Corps of Engineers more flexibility in contracting and scheduling construction activities as workers continue with the massive deepening project.

  • Thurmond Lake Project to mark some boundary lines over next few months

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Army Corps of Engineers will clear and remark the government boundary lines along portions of the J. Strom Thurmond Lake beginning Nov. 1 with the work continuing through the winter. Contracted crews will primarily work on the boundary in McCormick County, South Carolina.

  • Sterile grass-eating carp to be released into Thurmond Lake to control hydrilla

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin stocking sterile triploid grass carp to reduce the abundance of hydrilla in the J. Strom Thurmond Lake Oct. 25 and will run through Nov. 15. The fish form a part of management strategies identified in the April 2016 Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy (AVM) Plan for the J. Strom Thurmond Project.

  • September

    Hartwell Lake parks & campgrounds closing as 2017 season wraps up

    As the 2017 summer recreation season closes, officials with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • Savannah District power team prepares to deliver generators to Lakeland, Florida

    Corps in Savannah deploys team to assist with emergency power in Florida

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District deployed a 15-person emergency

  • Savannah River reservoirs equipped to handle Irma rainfall, officials urge caution downstream of Thurmond Dam

    SAVANNAH, Ga. – Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District said today that