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Show The Salt Lake Tribune THE WEST Saturday, April 22,2000 WeatherForcing Killer Bees to Headto Cities Chances of swarmingattacks onthe rise as insects leave unseasonablydryregions in search of food STAFF AND WIRE SERVICES PHOENIX — Confronted with unseasonably dry weather, the easily agitated Africanized honeybees are moving from the parched desert regions to the bountifulcities. The wild plants that normallyprovide nectar and pollen have shriveled up. So the so-called killer bees are heading into urban areas — like someone's backyard — in search of new honey sources. “In periods of dry weather, these bees will pack up and move on. They're going to where the waterand flowers are,” said Dave Langston, an Africanized honeybee expert and superin- swarming encounters. With fewer bees foraging for food, there are more bees in the hiveto de- Tucson. “It’s a serious, serious problem.” fend their precious honey reserves and brood, experts say hives as often as every six weeks compared to about once a year for domestic bees, experts say. As both Africanized bee and human popula tions increase in Arizona, there is a greater probability that someone or some animal will encounter the bees’ fury, experts say Normally, most bee attacks occur in July when honeystores dry up and in October when the bees are looking for new homes and honey wurces Already this spring, a 76-year-old man suffered more than 300 stings at his home, and seven men working on a grocerystore roof in Tucson were attacked andinjured. Thebees hit Arizona in 1993 and have since been blamed for the deaths of four people. The bees also havekilled numerous animals that tendentof the Universityof Arizona’s Maricopa Agriculture Center. were penned or chained and unabletoflee. Experts say Arizona's droughtlike conditions Already, the dangerouskiller bees have been are acerbating an ongoing problem: Thebees’ discovered in Mesquite, Nev., about 30 miles southwest of the Utah-Nevada border. Utah ag- numbers are multiplying and they nowout number the docile European honeybees “They grow geometrically,” said Tom Martin, a former commercial beekeeper and re- riculture officials are concerned about them comingin to Utah. The dry weather doesn't make the bees more searcher with the Carl Hayden Research Center aggressive, for the U.S. but increases the System to Clean Up Mismanagement OfIndian Accounts ‘THE ASSOCIATEDPRESS WASHINGTON — A newcomputer system will allow American chances of Department of Agriculture andwill chase an intruder upto a quarter of a feet of the hive, or any movementwithin 50 feet, cansetoff the bees. Stings from Africanized bees are not more potent than the Europeanvarieties. But when they attack, tens of thousands of bees bolt from the hive and then overwhelm andsting the intruder Patrick Kramer The Associated Press Assistant Superintendant Bob Upton feedstrout at Bellvue hatchery in LaPorte, Colo. The hatchery was onceinfected with whirling disease Whirling Disease Takes Its Toll On Colorado Rivers, Hatcheries STAFF AND WIRE SERVICES Solo. The murky water swirled with the current, but seemedto be stirring inside. e are usually some in LOS ANGELES — Federal wildlifeofficials are facing an unusual decision — whethera bird population flicking afew fish pellets into the water. Sudden| threatened only a few decades ago is nowa threat itself. pound rainbow the surface to snatchupthe morsel “These are all theyare decimating fisheries. Adult cormorants eat up toa poundoffish a day. From the Great Lakes tothe } waterroiled from below and trout swirled Sport anglers and fish farmers worrythat double- the California suburbs, the migratory bird is at the center of controversy. Doug Elliott, who runs two trout-fishing lakes in Orange and Riverside counties in California, estix mated cormorants devoured 50 percentofthe fish he individual accounts and about$2.5 billionin tribal trust funds, can remain agitated for as long as eight hours mile. Operating power equipment within 100 aid David Smeltzer of the Bellvue Watson. Fish Hatchery, rectly into their bank accounts, Interior Departmentofficials say. The new accounting program is part of an effort to clean up mis- help oversee reform efforts for the Thebees generally keep to themselves, but if a threatis perceived, attack is eminent. The bees STAFF AND WIRE SERVICES crested cormorants have become so numerousthat trust-account system that dates back to whenit was created in the 1880s. About 300,000 Indians have the accounts, which handle proceeds from leases for oil drilling, grazing and other uses of their land. Officials finished transferring accounts to the new Trust Funds Accounting System earlier this month, and account holders now will get more informative quarterly account statements, said Carrie Moore ofthe Office of Special Trustee. Congress created the semi-independentoffice in 1994 to Oncethe bees establish a home, their numbers can increase significantly in a short time and their behavior becomes moreaggressive. Protected Bird Becoming a ThreatItself Indians with governmentmanaged trust accounts to check their balances as often as they want and get funds deposited di- management of the $500 -million in Africanized varieties tend to create new stocked at Corona Lake,costing him $400,000 peryear, until he began scaring them off with noisy pyrotechnics. “When you haveliterally thousandsof cormorants, theyfish yourlake out in nothingflat,” he said. Next week,the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will masskillings for population control. The black, goose-sized bird with the orange throat pouchisn’t on the federal endangeredspecies list, but pa so it’s not a ¥ kind ofs: cleaner than the Poudre mainly becauseofthe type ofriver it is. “The Big Thompsonis a higher gradient stream with no Side Channels where water sits,” he said. “Up there, the wateris just Whoosh. The Poudre is slower moving with oxbows and beaver ponds, andthat’s what perpetuates the cycle.” Whirling disease wasfirst dis- coveredin Utah in 1991 inahatch. er e Smeltzer said. “You just have to w what to look for andkeep av y fromthose areas.” ery owned bythe family of Utah Andthat, in a nutshell, sums up what the Colorado Division of hardat work trying to stay ahead ofthe disease, but research hasn’t plansandstricter protection, the population bounced Wildlife andfishermenthroughout the state have hadto accept since yielded much when it comes to eradicating the disease from backto historic highs. There are an estimated 1 mil- whirling disease came to the state. Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press U.S. Fish and Wildlife hearings next weekwill deter- minethefate of double-crested cormorantslikethis. But with the banning of DDT, pollution cleanup begin public hearings on creating a national cormorant management plan.It could be in place as early as the fall. Options could range from making no changes in the current system to destroying nests and allowing h that have been exposed to ¥ sippi Riverto The Poudre has been decimated, but still fishes OK.” Smeltzer said the Thompsonis lion to 2 million in the United States and Canada. Cormorants are found throughout Utah. In the 1970s the Utah population was down andthere was concern about its survival, but the bird population since has rebounded. But the appetite of the longneckeddiving bird has putit in conflict with humans. Conservationists are wary of any sweeping changes to the federal protection of cormorants. They say de- Not every stream has been hard-hit andnotevery fish in the state has beeninfected. But the State's wild rainbowtrout has been Gov. Mike Leavitt. It has hit a number of waterways in thestate, including the Provo River. DOWresearchers have been waterways. Nowit has come downto what typeof fish to stock, whentostock them and what waters to stock themin. severelyhurt, especially on waters And it means a cleanup and suchas the Cachela Poudre. South Platte and Coloradorivers. modernization for the state's fish “The St. Vrain and Big hatcheries, many of which have tested positive for the disease. clining sportfish populations might be caused by overfishing, pollution and the invasionof predatory son are notaffected as much,”said Dale Darling, owner of the St Vrain Angler shop in Longmont. ‘The Big Thompson has a very to fish different. patterns for harder-to-catch fish such as “These birds are being used as a scapegoat for overfishing and bad management,” said Michael healthy population of rainbows. browns. it is protected from hunting under international treaty. Cormorant populations began declining in the 1950s. Reasonsincluded poisoning from the pesticide DDT,which caused them to lay thin-shelled eggs, pol- non-native lake species thateatotherfish and compete for their food or spawningsites. lution that destroyed fishing grounds and anglers who shotthe birds and destroyed their nests. Markarian,a leaderof The Fundfor Animals. For fishermen, it means contin. ued patience andperhaps learning CA ee Shape Up for Summer e HNEALTHRIDER SITETM uoi°99 PUCED ASU Ta Peesao SAVE $200 PEL VGR900 Reg. $799 Traay CRU) FOOTHILL FITNESS OEM AUT TAAS 484-9489 ITS DSS are Nordicitack’ HEALTHRIDER www.nordictrack.com, Call 1*800*To*BesFit NewLocation Comp USA Market Place 801-484-8633 (Off 1-15 on the 21S. Ext, Behind Home Depo!) Fashion Place Mal www. healthrider.com 801-261-3906 CCI WIRELESS 801 268 0066 WHICH INCLUDES FREE DOMESTIC LONG DISTANCE FOR $29.99 / MONTH OFFER ENDS 4/30/2000 QUALCOMM1960 95 $19. 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