I just caught this today...

Thousands of fish wiped out in 12-mile stretch of Black River

JOHN FLESHER / Associated Press

Traverse City -- Thousands of fish have been killed in the Black River in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, possibly because of an improper manure discharge from a farm, state officials said Wednesday.
Biologists described the die-off as among the biggest they had seen, said Robert McCann, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Quality. Nearly all fish in a 12-mile stretch of the river in Sanilac and St. Clair counties, along with other aquatic life, were wiped out, he said.
"Many of the fish lost in this incident were larger, older fish," said Rebecca Humphries, director of the Department of Natural Resources. "This is a significant loss of a very diverse fishery in the Black River."



Scientists with the DNR's fisheries division were counting and classifying the dead fish. Among the game species were smallmouth and rock bass, channel catfish, northern pike and the greater racehorse. Many were 1 to 2 feet long. Also killed were smaller types such as darters.
A DNR survey in 2007 found more than two dozen species in the river, which contains cobble, boulders, gravel and sand.
"It was a very good, strong fish habitat until now," DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff said.
The river also has ecological value as a home for native mussel species at a time when invasive zebra and quagga mussels have overrun many waterways in the Great Lakes region. It wasn't immediately clear how the contamination was affecting mussels, Detloff said.
Investigators were focusing on an apparent manure discharge from a field adjacent to Seymour Creek, an upstream tributary of the river. But DEQ officials said they needed to review all possible sources of the pollution before assigning blame.
"The damage caused by this incident is not only unfortunate, but completely unacceptable," Director Steven Chester said. "While we cannot undo the damage that has already been done, the DEQ will continue to investigate the cause behind it and hold those responsible for it accountable."