(Red Oak) The DNR has a long-term monitoring site on the East Nishnabotna near Stennett due to the fish kill from last winter. The DNR added two temporary sites to evaluate whether the fish kill impacted turtle populations. DNR fisheries biologist John Lorenzen says they found no dead turtles during the fish kill investigation. However, during the winter, turtles are buried in the sediment under the river bottom, waiting out the winter. Lorenzen says the good news is that no dead turtles were observed this spring when they came out of hibernation.
Lorenzen says they caught 27 individual turtles at the Stennett site, which was not impacted by the fish kill, and 37 individual turtles at the Red Oak site within the fish kill zone, with an average of 3.08 turtles per net.
On March 11, NEW Cooperative, Inc. in Red Oak, notified the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) of the on-site release. Approximately 1,500 tons (265,000 gallons) of liquid nitrogen fertilizer (32% solution) was discharged into a drainage ditch, then into the East Nishnabotna River. The release occurred due to an aboveground storage tank valve left open. DNR Fisheries staff documented the fish kill occurring in all 49.8 miles of the East Nishnabotna and Nishnabotna Rivers downstream of the spill. The kill continued in Missouri’s portion of the Nishnabotna River and ended near the confluence with the Missouri River.
