Corps closes trashed recreation area near Pullman

PULLMAN, Wash. — A popular recreation area along the Snake River near Pullman will not be open for Labor Day because it was trashed last weekend by hard-partying visitors. The Corps of Engineers closed the Illia Dunes after more than 3,000 visitors left broken bottles and beer cans on the beach and littered parking lots with trash, creating health and safety hazards. The corps says it doesn’t have the resources for such a big cleanup job if visitors can’t pick up after themselves. The Tri-City Herald reports the dunes are a popular recreation site with sandy beaches on the south shore of the Snake River about three miles downstream of Lower Granite Lock and Dam