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ByIvanMoreno The Associated Press DENVER Tribal officials with the Navajo Nation de- clared an emergency as a massive plume of contam- inated wastewater from an abandoned Colorado mine flowed down the San Juan River on Monday toward Lake Powell in Utah, which supplies much of the water to the Southwest. Some drinking water sys- tems on the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, have shut down their intake systems and stopped divert- ing water from the river. Drinking water is being hauled to some communi- ties. Navajo President Russell Begaye said the tribe is frus- trated with U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency and he plans to take legal action. An EPA-supervised crew has been blamed for causing the spill while at- tempting to clean up the mine area. Elsewhere, farms along the Animas and San Juan river valleys in northwest- ern New Mexico have no water to irrigate their crops after the spill. The yellow plume of wastewater stretches 100 miles and was three times larger than initially esti- mated, federal officials say. The EPA initially estimated 1 million gallons escaped. The water is laced with heavy metals, includ- ing lead and arsenic, and spilled from the Gold King Mine in the historic town of Silverton, turning the An- imas River in Colorado a mustard yellow last week. The spill reached the New Mexico municipalities of Aztec, Farmington and Kirtland over the weekend. The EPA has so far been unable to determine whether humans or aquatic life face health risks from the pollution. The Navajo Nation in its declaration stated the toxic spill will have long-last- ing and unknown impacts on the tribe's water system and wells. No drinking-water con- tamination has been re- ported because water utili- ties shut down their intake valves ahead of the plume to keep it out of their sys- tems. Farmers also closed the gates on their irriga- tion ditches to protect their crops. Colorado authorities said Monday there were no re- ports yet of harm to wild- life in that state. COLORADO Na va jo N at io n de cl ar es emergency a er mine spill JERRYMCBRIDE—THEDURANGOHERALDVIAAP Scott Roberts, an aquatic biologist with Mountain Studies Institute, collects insects out of the Animas River, in Durango Colo., on Sunday to check on their health. By Matthew Brown The Associated Press BILLINGS,MONT. A 63-year- old Montana man was iden- tified Monday as the victim of a fatal bear attack in Yel- lowstone National Park as officials awaited results of DNA testing to determine if a grizzly captured nearby was responsible. Seasonal park employee Lance Crosby of Billings was killed last week while hiking alone off-trail with- out bear spray, according to officials. His body was found Friday about a half- mile from the nearest de- veloped trail, near an area known as Lake Village. Crosby was the sixth person killed since 2010 by grizzlies in the greater Yel- lowstone area, which has an estimated 750 grizzlies and includes the park and sur- rounding portions of Mon- tana, Idaho and Wyoming. Encounters between hu- mans and grizzlies bears have risen sharply in recent decades as the region's griz- zly population expanded. But relatively few lead to death or injury, and park officials say the risk of be- ing attacked by a bear is comparable to the chances of being struck by lightning. Park biologists set a trap Friday that caught a female bear at the scene of the at- tack but not the cub be- lieved to have been with her. If testing confirms the sow was involved in Cros- by's death, it will be killed, Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk said. The cub, if captured, could be killed or adopted by a zoo or rehabil- itation center. Crosby had worked as a nurse in the park's medical clinics over five seasons and was described as an expe- rienced hiker, officials said. "At this point in time, I have no knowledge that it could have been avoided," Wenk said. "He was in an area that's frequently used, a popular area that people went to. It's not like he was bushwhacking through the forest." Bruising around punc- ture wounds on Crosby's forearms suggested he had tried to defend himself, of- ficials said. Yellowstone receives more than 3 million visits a year from tourists who come to view its geysers and abundant wildlife. YELLOWSTONE Montana man identified in bear attack FacebookPage 4,151fans + 18 this week .. and growing, every week! Daily News Facebook fans receive special posts of breaking news, sports, weather and road closures, clicking right to full stories and photos published on redbluffdailynews.com ... Tehama County's most-visited local website ... things that that fans want to know about, sooner rather than later! www.facebook.com/rbdailynews "LIKE" us at "Like" a story or item, leave a review, make a post on the site ... and more! YOU'LL LIKE WHAT YOU SEE TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B