This is your daily news rundown for Monday, Aug. 24. In this edition:
- Pineview Reservoir and Lost Creek Reservoir are under advisories for harmful algal blooms
- A rockfall closed Big Bend in Zion National Park
- Utah State University improperly euthanized over 80 naked mole rats last year
There are harmful algal blooms in two northern Utah reservoirs
Health officials found harmful algal blooms in two northern Utah reservoirs.
Pineview Reservoir is about eight miles east of Ogden in the Ogden Valley, and Lost Creek Reservoir is north of Croydon in northeast Morgan County.
The Weber-Morgan Health Department advised visitors at both reservoirs to avoid drinking or swimming in the water.
Boating and fishing are still allowed, though recreators and pets should avoid areas of algae. If you’re harvesting fish instead of releasing them, clean the catch well and discard guts.
A rockfall cut off Big Bend in Zion National park
A large rockfall cut off one of Zion National Park’s most popular areas on Monday.
The National Park Service said crews are currently clearing the hazard from the roadway in Big Bend. Officials have not said whether anyone was injured.
The rockfall also closed some stops of the park’s shuttle service, which is the only access to the main areas of Zion.
While Big Bend is closed, the shuttle will only go as far as bus stop #6, which services The Grotto. That means the drop-off point for The Narrows hike, considered one of the most popular national park hikes, is also closed.
USU improperly euthanized over 80 naked mole rats last year
A federal inspection found that Utah State University improperly euthanized over 80 naked mole rats last year.
The report was done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
It said the university used CO2, which was an unapproved euthanasia method. That’s because naked mole rats are hypoxia-tolerant, which means they needed about 40 minutes of prolonged exposure to the gas to die.
Instead, the report said the university should’ve used an injectable euthanasia method.
Utah State University said in a statement it self-reported the incidents and took corrective action before the July inspection.
