NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
July 26, 2007

Laramie Resident Contracts Water-borne Infection from Vedauwoo Stream

Contact Information

LARAMIE – A local resident contracted a serious bacterial infection last week requiring medical attention after wading in Crow Creek in the Vedauwoo area of the Medicine Bow National Forest.

“I was up there on a nice hot day with my dogs, and we all got in the water to cool off,” said Laramie resident Dave Waggoner. “Within a few days, my legs started swelling up, and I was waiting for it to get better on its own, but it kept getting worse. I could hardly get a shoe on, and then it started spreading up my leg. Eventually I went to see a critical care doctor and she told me that it was a serious bacterial infection.” Heavy doses of antibiotics were prescribed, reducing the pain and inflammation, but Waggoner has yet to fully recover.

Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and Center for Native Ecosystems filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service in 2004 to correct levels of livestock-related fecal coliform contamination in the Crow Creek watershed that violate the Clean Water Act. The case is currently pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

“We filed this lawsuit in hopes of cleaning up the contamination problem in Vedauwoo so problems like this one wouldn’t occur,” said Erik Molvar, wildlife biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. “The Forest Service and livestock permittees have made some improvements in response to our lawsuit, but for now, it looks like the water quality in Vedauwoo still poses a serious public health threat. We’re advising people to avoid wading or playing in the water in Vedauwoo until the problems are completely cleaned up.”

Dave Waggoner, Laramie Resident, (307) 721-9385
Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, (307) 742-7978