St. Paul, MN -- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has identified farm pollution in Hillsboro as the source of pollutants that killed at least 159 trout and thousands of forage fish in the South Fork of the Baraboo River earlier this month.  The DNR issued a citation to the farm's owner, James P. Misna, and is seeking restitution in the amount of $4,173.35 for the dead trout.

"It was almost a total kill of trout," said DNR Fisheries Biologist Dave Vetrano.  Five to six miles of the Class 3 trout stream, which requires stocking, was fouled by the farm pollution.  The pollution incident, which was first reported on May 1st, the opening day of fishing season, eliminated trout from the South Fork of the Baraboo for this year.

A combination of incidents caused the fish kill, according to the DNR investigation.  On April 27, an unknown amount of liquid waste from cow lots was allowed to spill toward the stream.  The next day, a pump filling a 3,000 gallon manure spreader was left unattended, and up to 18,000 gallons of manure slurry was released to find its way toward the stream.  The following day, 19,000 pounds of contaminated milk was dumped through a drain with a pipe leading to the same ravine that the manure and water mixture ran down.

"The incident on the Baraboo River is only the region's first fish kill of the season.  Fish kills, important indicators of water quality and ecosystem health, are becoming an increasing phenomenon in Wisconsin," states Amy Fredregill, Energy Associate and Agriculture Coordinator of the Izaak Walton League, Midwest Office.  Last August, the over-application of liquid manure to a field killed 250,000 fish in Dexter Creek.  Last May, 7,000 trout were killed in Parker Creek, when a rainfall washed land-applied manure into a stream.

The pollutants associated with farm runoff -- phosphorus and nitrogen, bacteria, viruses and heavy metals -- also pose health hazards to humans, such as blue-baby syndrome, miscarriages, and bacterial poisoning, including the 1993 contamination of Milwaukee's drinking water that caused over 100 deaths.  Runoff pollution is not regulated under the federal Clean Water Act.

As production of farm animals has been concentrated onto larger feedlots, the pollutants have become more concentrated.  Wisconsin is seeing an increasing number of factory farms within its boundaries, including a proposed factory-style dairy facility on a site in the basin of the Rush River, one of the best trout streams in the Midwest.  It is estimated that the operation will produce 5 million gallons of manure annually, from 850-1200 cows on only 45 acres of land.

The Izaak Walton League of America, founded in 1922, is a national conservation organization with 50,000 members nationwide.   The League has historically focused on protecting fish and wildlife, critical habitat and water resources.  The League maintains its headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland and a Midwest Office in St. Paul, Minnesota.