{"id":5572,"date":"2016-08-23T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T15:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/more-tests-set-for-yellowstone-tributaries-after-fish-deaths\/"},"modified":"2016-08-23T08:00:58","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T15:00:58","slug":"more-tests-set-for-yellowstone-tributaries-after-fish-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/more-tests-set-for-yellowstone-tributaries-after-fish-deaths\/","title":{"rendered":"More tests set for Yellowstone, tributaries after fish deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"

BILLINGS, Mont. \u2014<\/strong> Wildlife workers will conduct tests on fish from additional areas of Montana to determine the extent of a disease blamed in a massive fish kill along the Yellowstone River, officials said Monday.<\/p>\n

The state indefinitely closed a 183-mile stretch of the river to all recreational activities on Friday after thousands of dead fish washed up along the river\u2019s banks in the Paradise Valley area north of Yellowstone National Park.<\/p>\n

Biologists are trying to determine if the little-understood parasite that\u2019s blamed for the deaths has infected fish further downstream and in several major tributaries. Those tributaries also were closed under the order from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.<\/p>\n

Crews will be collecting fish throughout the week on the Yellowstone downstream of Springdale and on three tributaries \u2014 the Shields, Boulder and Stillwater rivers, said Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokeswoman Andrea Jones.<\/p>\n

Results of laboratory tests are expected within a few days of collection. The parasite at issue causes infected fish to develop proliferative kidney disease. Warm water temperatures and low river levels have worsened the problem by stressing the Yellowstone\u2019s fish populations and making them more prone to dying.<\/p>\n

The river\u2019s closure during the busy summer season dealt a major blow to fishing guides, fly shops, rafting companies and others who work in the region\u2019s thriving outdoors industry.<\/p>\n

Officials have warned the closure could last for weeks or even months. It\u2019s intended to prevent the parasite from spreading to other waterways via contaminated boats, fishing waders or other gear.<\/p>\n

However, state officials have acknowledged the order is all but impossible to enforce and they\u2019re counting heavily on voluntary compliance. The order did not apply to Yellowstone National Park.<\/p>\n

Eric Burge of Livingston was among those forced to change plans, prematurely ending what was to have been a multi-day float trip down the river. As he washed down his raft with a washcloth, Burge said he was disappointed but was \u201chere for the long haul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love this river and am happy to take off it and put back on another day when there\u2019s not a potential to damage other waterways,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So far, most of the fish killed have been whitefish. Few have been trout, a highly prized species among many anglers.<\/p>\n

Dozens of independent outfitters depend on the trout fishery in the Yellowstone, charging clients up to $500 a day for a guided float trip, said Leslie Feigel, executive director for the Livingston Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

Some of those guides can relocate to rivers outside the closure area if they have the proper permits, but that\u2019s not the case for everyone, she said.<\/p>\n

If the fish kill had happened in June, the consequences would have been far worse, Feigel added.<\/p>\n

Gov. Steve Bullock planned to visit the river Tuesday, state officials said.<\/p>\n

A community meeting on the closure and fish kill was scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Park County Fairgrounds in Livingston.<\/p>\n

Jones said members of the public want to know when the river will open.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something we can\u2019t say, but we can help them understand why it is closed to this extent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BILLINGS, Mont. \u2014 Wildlife workers will conduct tests on fish from additional areas of Montana to determine the extent of a disease blamed in a massive fish kill along the Yellowstone River, officials said Monday. The state indefinitely closed a 183-mile stretch of the river to all recreational activities on Friday after thousands of dead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":5573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[65],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-5572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-nation-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5572"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=5572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}