Schweitzer said he wanted "every foot" of the Yellowstone's banks to be examined for oil, and he said that he expects Exxon and any other responsible parties to clean up the spill.
"(President) Reagan used to say, 'Trust but verify.' Well we're not even going to trust, we're just going to verify," Schweitzer said.
The company also has said the spill appeared to be concentrated within a 10-mile stretch of the river between Billings and the nearby town of Laurel.
But Schweitzer said the oil's spread in the Yellowstone -- which is the longest undammed river in the United States -- could be more extensive.
"This is a lot of wild country, and they haven't any idea whether it's 5 miles, 50 miles or 100 miles, they're guessing," Schweitzer, a Democrat, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
A full assessment of the oil's spread will not be possible until small boats can be deployed in the river, he said
Schweitzer said he was concerned about damage from the spill to farm fields recently flooded when the Yellowstone overflowed its banks, and to the state's prized trout fishing industry.
"To say that there's no harm to wildlife, that would be silly, otherwise we would just allow rivers to have oil in them all the time," Schweitzer said
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