Federal and State Officials Now Working to Stop the Carp

Thank you to everyone who made calls to Senator Kohl and Feingold urging them to do something to stop the carp!  It worked!

Now federal and state (including Wisconsin) politicians are taking actions to spur on the prevention of an asian carp invasion.

State Action

The Wisconsin Assembly unanimously passed a resolution calling on the WI Attorney General to intervene to prevent an asian carp invasion. This resolution primes WI to join Michigan in potential legal intervention, the press release is attached below.

The pressure has urged WI Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen use his authority to prevent the invasion of the carp.  You can read about what he plans to do on JSOnline.com. 

35 state legislators representing each Great Lakes state signed onto a letter calling on Congress to take specific actions necessary to stop the carp.

Federal Action

The Great Lakes Restoration Initative recently pledged $13 million to due its share.  You can read that story here.

The Great Lakes Congressional Task Force finalized a letter, with 50
signatories, calling for action from the Corps, EPA, FWS and CG. You can find the letter attached.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper's Action

Milwaukee Riverkeeper together with several other environmental groups recently sent a letter to Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox in support of a letter to him from Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (to read it click here).

Governor Granholm's letter urges Attorney General Cox to pursue every legal tool available to ensure no carp get over the barrier into Lake Michigan.  Legal action could include of a lawsuit against the State of Illinois and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

Summary

Below you'll find a recent Journal-Sentinel Editorial outling the recent developments in the Asian Carp story, and what this means for our Great Lakes:

[excerpted from the Journal-Sentinel]

That the federal government is going to spend another $13 million to try to stop the Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan is welcome news. That it took this long for the threat to get this much serious attention says something about the way government too often works. Those who love the Great Lakes have to hope that the help is not too little, too late.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced the additional expenditure this week. Much of the money will go to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers so the Corps can build emergency berms and plug various waterways in the Chicago area to keep the carp from riding floodwaters into the lake.

Also welcome news: Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says he will use his office to pursue all legal means to stop the carp. Michigan's attorney general is threatening to sue to force the Corps and Illinois to shut down navigation locks to prevent further carp encroachment.

The Asian carp has been steadily making its way through Illinois waterways and toward the Great Lakes since escaping from containment ponds in Arkansas. The jumping fish can grow as large as 50 pounds and pose a serious threat to the Great Lakes billion-dollar fishery.

Authorities built an electric barrier on the canal to halt the carp but did not turn it on full strength. DNA sampling early this fall detected the carp just below the barrier. Authorities reacted by poisoning the canal about two weeks ago in an attempt to block its entry into the lake.

But there's another problem: While the carp has been moving up the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the invasive species also recently migrated up the adjacent Des Plaines River. The river has a history of flooding its banks and spilling into the canal. A flood between the two would provide the carp a way around the barrier and a straight shot up the canal and into Lake Michigan.

That's where most of the $13 million the EPA announced this week will be spent. And it's a necessary action. But wouldn't it have been more prudent to spend that money earlier, before the carp got into the canal?

Wisconsin state leaders can help by getting together, as Van Hollen is doing, with Great Lakes counterparts to pressure the feds to close the locks and do whatever else is necessary to curb the carp invasion.

In a related action, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen recently pledged his support to "take appropriate action to ensure that the integrity of Lake Michigan is not harmed by the introduction of these Carp"
 

CURRENT INFO 

For recent headlines from across the region, check out Great Lakes United's asian carp webpage here:  http://www.glu.org/asiancarp