This news release was produced by an intern for a class assignment and is not an actual

publication of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. All suggested plans and actions are
purely hypothetical.


United States Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service
Ennis National Fish Hatchery
180 Fish Hatchery Road
Ennis, Montana 59729
Press Release

Contact: Tana Nulph FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Telephone: (406) 682-4847
Other phone number: (406) 682-4317
Fax: (406) 682-7635
Email: Tana_Nulph@fws.gov




FISH HATCHERY INITIATES PROGRAM TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT
WHIRLING DISEASE
Intern-coordinated Program to Use Social Media to Reach Montana Youth

ENNIS, Montana (April 19, 2014)


Ennis National Fish Hatchery announced the recent hire of a Student Conservation
Association intern to coordinate a social media campaign to combat a parasite that threatens
Montana fisheries.
The campaign will use Facebook and other internet resources to target Montana tourists
and residents ages 18-29. It will promote best practices for preventing the spread of Whirling
disease, a parasitic infection that can be fatal to trout and other sport fishes.
-more-


This news release was produced by an intern for a class assignment and is not an actual
publication of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. All suggested plans and actions are
purely hypothetical.

Whirling Disease p. 2
The campaign will be an on-going project, said project manager Connie Keeler-Foster.
The message of the campaign is simple: by inspecting, cleaning, and drying boats, trailers, and
equipment, everyone can help prevent the spread of Whirling Disease.
First identified in Montana in 1994, Whirling Disease has since infested several major
drainages in Montana. The damage to fish populations depends upon the severity of the
infestation, making prevention of the disease a priority for anglers and State and Federal resource
agencies. The continued quality of Montanas fisheries depends upon the prevention and control
of the disease.
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Ennis National Fish Hatchery operates as a rainbow trout broodstock hatchery and is the
largest facility in the United States Fish and Wildlife Services National Broodstock Program.
Broodstock hatcheries specialize in egg production and distribution rather than fish production or
mitigation of endangered species. Ennis produces about 20 million rainbow trout eggs annually
for research facilities, universities, and hatcheries in 23 states. Economic benefits of the program
weigh-in at 5 million angler days, generating $50 million per year.