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--> --> Dead fish a concern in Rogue MEDFORD (AP) - Biologists have asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release more water in the lower Rogue River canyon after several hundred dead fish floated to the surface. The fish died from columnaris, a bacterial disease that kills fish by attacking the respiratory system, said Mike Evenson, district fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "It's in the water virtually most of the time, but until you get elevated water temperatures, it doesn't become active enough to kill fish," Evenson said. The Corps of Engineers may increase the river's flow by 50 percent on Wednesday instead of waiting for the scheduled flow increase on Aug. 10. While the official count of dead fish is about 200, a state employee counted at least 500 salmon carcasses during a four-day recreation trip that ended Sunday. "If you were sitting on the shore, you could watch them floating by," said Forbes Jonasson, a biology aide in Gold Beach. "I've done this float every year for a long time and I've never seen it to this extent." Jonasson saw evidence of bears feeding on the fish and experienced another unusual event - a lack of bear activity at his camp sites. "We assumed it was because the bear had so many salmon to eat," he said. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists recently recorded a high water temperature of 79 degrees near Agness. By comparison, the water is 55 degrees when it is released into the river at Lost Creek Dam, more than 100 miles away. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing