Bismarck boat ramps flooded

BISMARCK (AP) — Boat ramps on the Missouri River from Garrison Dam to the Maclean Bottoms area south of Bismarck are becoming unusable because of the river’s high level.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department said that with the exception of the Tailrace ramp below the dam, all ramps will either be closed or have restricted access within a week, making them “effectively inoperable.”

Record flows from Garrison Dam are forecast into the summer because the reservoir is full of spring snowmelt and runoff from heavy rains.

Game and Fish said boats on the Missouri and Heart rivers in the Bismarck-Mandan area also are being restricted to idle speed, to prevent damaging wakes.

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