Wildlife biologists and anglers are watching anxiously as up to 1,000 barrels of crude spilled from an Exxon Mobil Corp. pipeline zip down the Yellowstone River in southern Montana, threatening fish, amphibians and water-dependent birds.
Fly fishermen today said that while the location of the spill was fortuitous -- downstream from the one of the nation's prized cold-water trout fisheries -- the spill's timing may spell trouble for species that depend on the river's side channels and backwaters to spawn.
Above-average snowmelt amid sweltering heat have turned the river into a chocolate-brown torrent, sending much of the oil into biologically productive side channels where fish including bass, catfish and sauger lay their eggs, said Bruce Farling, executive director of Trout Unlimited's Montana chapter.
"These are places where young fish rear," Farling said this morning in an interview. "You've got amphibians, you've got wading birds, you've got waterfowl, painted turtles, soft-shell turtles ... a bunch of stuff is kind of at risk because of this."
The oil threatens eggs that fish lay in the gravel as well as young fish that have recently hatched. The crude could smother eggs, suffocate young fish or cover the plankton that fish eat, poisoning them, Farling said.
"This couldn't have happened at a worse time," he said.
Farling and state and local officials said the river's high flow, at about 7 mph, has also complicated cleanup efforts by limiting access and impairing some cleanup equipment.
Doug Haacke, a Billings, Mont.-based fly fisherman and member of Trout Unlimited's executive committee, said the river's high flow may deposit more of the oil on low-lying river banks, where it may affect waterfowl, aquatic insects and turtles.
"One of the good things is when it happened was a time that the water was very high," he said. "It has left a lot of that sludge higher up on land.
"If you had to pick one spot for this to happen, that's a pretty good place," he added, noting that much of the recreational fishing is upstream of Laurel, Mont., the site of the spill. Recreational and agricultural use picks back up downstream of Billings, he said.
Ron Aasheim, spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the agency has several staff members on site attempting to determine how the accident might affect wildlife both immediately and in the long term.
Exxon said it expected to have 200 cleanup workers on hand to soak up oil and isolate slicks that have pooled adjacent to the river. Most of the cleanup is focused on areas within 20 miles downstream of the spill. Vacuum trucks and tankers are also on hand to pick up and dispose of the oil, it said.
U.S. EPA has deployed an additional 100 workers to assist with the spill, said Bill Kennedy, Yellowstone County commissioner.
"As we were walking along the river there, the channels show a lot of oil buildup," Kennedy said after touring the site of the spill this afternoon. "That's where the crews were attacking."
Exxon said it has received one report of affected wildlife, and Kennedy said farmers have had to move goats and cattle to prevent them from drinking from the river.
The Montana Audubon Conservation Education Center and Yellowstone Valley Audubon have offered to provide wildlife recovery services and facilities, Exxon said.
"The Yellowstone River is a special place: it is one of America's great rivers -- the longest free-flowing river in the continental United States," said Montana Sen. Max Baucus (D) in a letter today to Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson. "The livelihood of homeowners, outfitters, sportsmen, and other businesses depend on a clean river."