Yellowstone River Closed to Fishing

As of August 19, 2016 the Yellowstone River from Gardiner, Montana to Laurel, Montana is closed to AL fishing, wading, floating, tubing and boating until further notice. The cause is Proliferative Kidney Disease [PKD]. Earlier this month anglers began reporting an unusual number of dead and dying Rocky Mountain Whitefish in the river south of Livingston, Montana. Samples taken from the river indicate that the cause is a microscopic parasite which affects trout as well as whitefish. While the parasite causes no risk to humans the river has been closed to prevent the spread of this disease.

When the river will reopen for recreational activities is unknown at this time. If you are planning to come to fish the Yellowstone River in the area described above you should make other plans at this time.

The Chronicler

Thank you for the notification.

Thanks for the notice. We are headed to Montana end of the month, but not to that location fortunately.

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Originally Posted by The Chronicler

As of August 19, 2016 the Yellowstone River from Gardiner, Montana to Laurel, Montana is closed to AL fishing, wading, floating, tubing and boating until further notice. The cause is Proliferative Kidney Disease [PKD]. Earlier this month anglers began reporting an unusual number of dead and dying Rocky Mountain Whitefish in the river south of Livingston, Montana. Samples taken from the river indicate that the cause is a microscopic parasite which affects trout as well as whitefish. While the parasite causes no risk to humans the river has been closed to prevent the spread of this disease.

When the river will reopen for recreational activities is unknown at this time. If you are planning to come to fish the Yellowstone River in the area described above you should make other plans at this time.

The Chronicler

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We should add that the closure also includes all tributaries to the Yellowstone in this effected area, which would include the Boulder, Stillwater and a number of other rivers and streams.

Also, Yellowstone National Park's scientists are presently reviewing this issue as far as what, if any, actions they might take in the Park, and an announcement from them is expected shortly.

John

Very sad and heartbreaking to see as a fisherwoman

I will be very interested in knowing why this has happened...........Is this due to contamination from other waters? Is it a "natural occurrence" due to climate conditions in the watershed? Certainly hope that it doesn't spread into other critical watersheds.

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Originally Posted by Byron haugh

I will be very interested in knowing why this has happened...........Is this due to contamination from other waters? Is it a "natural occurrence" due to climate conditions in the watershed? Certainly hope that it doesn't spread into other critical watersheds.

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Byron -

To answer your question, it appears that this pathogen has been in a number of other rivers in northwest for some time, and the effects this year on the Yellowstone may have been exacerbated by a combination of low and warm water.

There have been reports on this in practically every newspaper in this part of the country for the past week or so, but here is one from the Billings paper that goes into some detail about it, in case you haven't read one of these news articles:

http://billingsgazette.com/lifestyle...2c343f7dc.html

As you know, I'm located right on the river in the middle of Paradise Valley, and it was eerily quiet here yesterday. While there are normally hundreds of people of all types on the river on a sunny summer Saturday, all we heard yesterday was the sound of the river, moving slowly along.

Although there are still tons of dead whitefish along the shoreline and in the eddies, I didn't see any dead ones floating in the river yesterday, or see nearly dead ones finning in one particular shallow eddy nearby, as I did most days during this past week, which may indicate that the kill is subsiding. And, I've been looking for dead trout, but so far I haven't seen any here where I am - just dead whitefish.

John

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Originally Posted by John Rhoades

it appears that this pathogen has been in a number of other rivers in northwest for some time, and the effects this year on the Yellowstone may have been exacerbated by a combination of low and warm water.

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John,

I wonder if PKD is what hit the whitefish population on the Madison River a few years ago; possibly the partial failure of Hebgen Dam (anyone remember the banded stop logs), and corresponding erratic flows/temps?
Hope cooler temps help ease the situation and relieve the stress on the fish.

Regards,
Scott

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Originally Posted by ScottP

John,

I wonder if PKD is what hit the whitefish population on the Madison River a few years ago; possibly the partial failure of Hebgen Dam (anyone remember the banded stop logs), and corresponding erratic flows/temps?
Hope cooler temps help ease the situation and relieve the stress on the fish.

Regards,
Scott

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Not sure where the other recognized breakouts of this were, nor were the members of another active forum that you and I participate in when this subject was discussed there.

Interestingly, I just got a newly published (2016) pocket guide book on aquatic invasive species in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem, and there is no reference in it to PKD.

It is also interesting to note that an experienced individual just down the road from me was stating his opinion that this was PKD almost as soon as the dead whitefish began showing over a week ago, and more than a week before the state officially recognized it as such.

John

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Originally Posted by John Rhoades

Byron -

To answer your question, it appears that this pathogen has been in a number of other rivers in northwest for some time, and the effects this year on the Yellowstone may have been exacerbated by a combination of low and warm water.

There have been reports on this in practically every newspaper in this part of the country for the past week or so, but here is one from the Billings paper that goes into some detail about it, in case you haven't read one of these news articles:

http://billingsgazette.com/lifestyle...2c343f7dc.html

As you know, I'm located right on the river in the middle of Paradise Valley, and it was eerily quiet here yesterday. While there are normally hundreds of people of all types on the river on a sunny summer Saturday, all we heard yesterday was the sound of the river, moving slowly along.

Although there are still tons of dead whitefish along the shoreline and in the eddies, I didn't see any dead ones floating in the river yesterday, or see nearly dead ones finning in one particular shallow eddy nearby, as I did most days during this past week, which may indicate that the kill is subsiding. And, I've been looking for dead trout, but so far I haven't seen any here where I am - just dead whitefish.

John

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John,
Thanks for that.
What I am really trying to understand is this: Is the PKD always there in the river, but becomes deadly to some fish when ecological factors deteriorate in the river; i.e., warming water, low flows, etc.....and, is it because the fish become weaker or is it because the disease thrives in such eco conditions..........

OR, has there been an introduction of the cause of the disease. I note that the Park recommends that fishers clean/disinfect their gear before entering waters in the Park.............

Byron,

I believe the basic answer to your questions is "Yes".

The PKD and other diseases and parasites are always in the water. The fish can usually deal with it, until they become stressed. The past two years have not been kind to the rivers out west and the fish are under a lot of stress.

I remember the drought in Montana (and the rest of the west) back in the early 2000's. The fish were under a lot of stress (warm low waters, lack of oxygen, low fo sources, etc) and there were many sick fish back then.

The whitefish die off on the Yellowstone is not totally unexpected as the whitefish are far more susceptible to harsh environments and require pristine water or they get sick a die faster than other trout.

This situation will run it's course and the river will come back, given time and better weather conditions.

Larry ---sagefisher---

Thanks,
The warming conditions we all experience may not get better.....

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Originally Posted by John Rhoades

Byron -

Although there are still tons of dead whitefish along the shoreline and in the eddies, I didn't see any dead ones floating in the river yesterday, or see nearly dead ones finning in one particular shallow eddy nearby, as I did most days during this past week, which may indicate that the kill is subsiding. And, I've been looking for dead trout, but so far I haven't seen any here where I am - just dead whitefish.

John

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John:

I would be very curious to continue getting updates from the RV park vicinity. Kinda hard to walk the riverbanks up here. FWIW, we saw very few dead whitefish at this end. Certainly fewer than 50 between Gardiner and Carbella in aggregate. I never saw more than half a dozen in a day, and I have (had) been floating Yankee Jim Canyon. There's a couple giant eddies at the bottom and I only saw floaters in one.

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Originally Posted by Longs for Cutts

John:

I would be very curious to continue getting updates from the RV park vicinity. Kinda hard to walk the riverbanks up here. FWIW, we saw very few dead whitefish at this end. Certainly fewer than 50 between Gardiner and Carbella in aggregate. I never saw more than half a dozen in a day, and I have (had) been floating Yankee Jim Canyon. There's a couple giant eddies at the bottom and I only saw floaters in one.

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I spent some time during mid-morning today walking along more than a half mile of the riiver here. There are still tons of dead whitefish lying all over (some places had 15-20 dead fish in a small cove, and other places have a hall dozen scattered along 20 - 30 feet or so of the shoreline) but nothing that looked like recently killed fish, and still no dead trout, fortunately. I haven't seen anything resembling a live fish in the water for the past couple days, and would really like to know what percentage of the whitefish here survived.

I took the water temperature here at 6:00 pm today. It was 68 then, and probably peaked close to 70 a bit earlier in the afternoon. Tomorrow's water temperatures will probably be somewhat warmer than today, if the weather forecast of close to 90 holds true. So, we'll see if any more dead whitefish show up then, but my guess is the worst has passed.

Tomorrow should be the last downright hot day of the season. Livingston highs Tues-Fri aren't forecast to get out of the mid-70s, and no day over 80 in the 10-day forecast. Let's hope that's the end of it.

I had some customers in the shop today who marveled at "thousands" of rising fish near Emigrant this morning. They saw nary a dead one.

Speaking of customers..........has this situation had a really dramatic impact?

Even with half our trips being in the park, we've already had about $5,000 in cancellations. A lot of others are in "wait and see" mode. The shops that focus on the Yellowstone River and spring creeks will be in far worse shape, as will the whitewater companies. One had to issue $50,000 in refunded deposits already.

Just an observation,

This morning, Wednesday, there are 42 rivers/creeks/streams/ that have been closed in whole or part in Montana. 35 of those 42 are the Yellowstone and the many tributaries that help form the river. I suspect there could be many smaller tributaries that are not mentioned. So many streams to form a river. I hope with the cooler weather that is on the horizon the fish will recover. The Browns are due to spawn in a little while. But, the Cutthroat and Rainbows did that this past spring, makes me wonder how many of those small fry did not make it. But, the rivers will recover in time.

Larry ---sagefisher---

To date the trout within the system seem to be virtually unaffected by this particular strain of this parasite. All of the tributaries that flow into the Yellowstone River from Gardiner Montana to Laurel, Montana are closed to all water related activities. The epicenter of this infections seems to be centered on the section of the Yellowstone from Emigrant, Montana to just south of Livingston. This is a developing story that is continually evolving so any hard and fast conclusions about the ultimate impact of this outbreak are speculative. Any business directly or indirectly tied to water-based tourist activities have been impacted; including but not limited to motels, restaurants, fly shops, guides, outfitters, rafting companies, grocery stores, campgrounds - in short most everyone living within the affected area, either directly or indirectly.

Pray for cooler temperatures, and cool heads.

Neil Travis [The Chronicler]

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Originally Posted by The Chronicler

To date the trout within the system seem to be virtually unaffected by this particular strain of this parasite. All of the tributaries that flow into the Yellowstone River from Gardiner Montana to Laurel, Montana are closed to all water related activities. The epicenter of this infections seems to be centered on the section of the Yellowstone from Emigrant, Montana to just south of Livingston. This is a developing story that is continually evolving so any hard and fast conclusions about the ultimate impact of this outbreak are speculative. Any business directly or indirectly tied to water-based tourist activities have been impacted; including but not limited to motels, restaurants, fly shops, guides, outfitters, rafting companies, grocery stores, campgrounds - in short most everyone living within the affected area, either directly or indirectly.

Pray for cooler temperatures, and cool heads.

Neil Travis [The Chronicler]

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And, pray for rain. Lots of rain.

As if this parasite in the river were not enough, let's not forget that several fires in Yellowstone National Park are also presently increasing in size. The largest of these is the Maple fire, just north and east of West Yellowstone, is now 27,000 acres. The southern entrance to the Park is presently closed as a result of another fire there, and on a trip through the Park 2 days ago, we encountered heavy smoke from Gardiner to West Yellowstone, and over into Idaho as far south as Ashton.

"news" about the big fish kill in the Yellowstone Watershed now in the mainstream news.

Not that this wasn't well known:

http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2016/...ne-fish-kills/

I can't recall if I have ever seen a live cow in the Yellowstone River, but I did see a dead one once. I've seen a lot of deer, a few moose and bear in the river, however. We even had an antelope swim across the river in front of my boat last year. Something needs to be done to keep all of this wildlife out of the river, don't you think, Byron?

As far as the irrigation from farming, I've decided to only consume imported products. I know that Japanese beef is far better than the grass fed beef we get from our local butcher anyway, and every one knows that Italians make some stylish clothing and sports cars.

I think wildlife is fine, John. Many rivers are significantly influenced by the irrigation taken from them, I believe. I know it is a constant struggle along the Henry's Fork in Idaho and all its tributaries.....to maintain flows for maintaining healthy fish populations, while addressing the calls for water from the irrigators.