Subcommittee approved funding for Yellowstone and whirling disease projects The Associated Press A U.S. Senate subcommittee has set aside millions of dollars for sewer system repair in Yellowstone National Park and a number of projects in Montana, one of them a whirling disease research center in Bozeman. Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said the bill also includes orders to federal agencies designed to keep public timber flowing to sawmills and to hinder reintroduction of grizzly bears to the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness area. The Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee has budgeted $5.7 million for repairs to Yellowstone's malfunctioning sewage systems. Park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews said the first priority will be the sewage system at Old Faithful, which in the past has dumped sewage into nearby streams. The bill also allocates $2 million for continued research on whirling disease, including $700,000 for work at Montana State University and $100,000 for work at the Bozeman Fish Technology Center in Bridger Canyon. Whirling disease is caused by a parasitic infection that erodes skull tissue and kills young trout. It has killed huge numbers of fish in Montana and there is no cure yet. The bill now awaits action by the full Interior Appropriations Committee, said Burns spokesman Matt Burns. Among the bill's non-spending measures: A requirement that federal officials must obtain the written consent of the governors of both Montana and Idaho before using any federal money to introduce grizzly bears in either state. Both governors oppose reintroduction of the bears in the Bitterroot, which straddles the border between the states. Orders to the Forest Service not to offer for sale any less timber than the agency offered in fiscal year 1999 and an extra $30 million for the agency's timber program. Requires the Forest Service to seek public comment before removing roads. Other budget matters include: $3 million to purchase land near Lindbergh Lake in Western Montana. $2.5 million for sewer upgrades in Glacier National Park. $500,000 for noxious weed research at MSU. Unspecified sums for construction and activities related to the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Updated: Saturday, June 26, 1999
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.