BOZEMAN — Though the final 17-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River was reopened Friday, the University of Montana estimates that Park County lost hundreds of thousands of dollars while the river was closed.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/2dfc8ch ) that preliminary figures from a University of Montana Institute for Tourism and Recreation report say the closure of the popular stream cost Park County between $360,000 and $524,000, based on past spending data from non-resident visitors.
The report says the loss was the equivalent of between five and eight full-time jobs.
The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks on Aug. 19 banned all recreation on a 183-mile stretch of the river from Gardiner to Laurel to prevent the spread of a parasite that was killing tens of thousands of mountain whitefish.