Coalition Targets 5 Great Lakes Restoration Priority Areas

Mayor Daley Shows Support For Rep. Dave Camp’s Bill

The Permanent Prevention of Asian Carp Act received support from a welcome and some might say, unlikely, person this week –Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who has weighed in on the latest and most important discussion in the Asian Carp crisis. Mayor Daley has written a letter to Congress expressing his support to accelerate a study that examines how to permanently separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

When Chicago reversed the flow of the Chicago River and connected the two basins, it created a pathway by which invasive species could infest U.S. waters. The Asian Carp is poised to join Read More » »

White House Makes Final Recommendations for Ocean Policy Task Force

The Obama Administration released the final recommendations of the Ocean Policy Task Force that sets up a national policy for the protection and restoration of the oceans, coasts and Great Lakes. The Task Force recommends establishing a National Ocean Council (NOC) that will govern policies addressing conservation, economics, sustainability and user conflict among the oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.

The next step will be for the President to adopt the recommendations and issue an Executive Order. This effort will untangle a web of more than 140 various laws and regulations that are enforced by more than 20 agencies. In June 2009, Read More » »

U.S. Senate Uses Appropriations Bill to Fight Advance of Asian Carp

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development is beefing up funds for the electronic fence in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal while giving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leeway to take emergency steps to stop the Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes from any of the connections or tributaries between the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins.

Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) are praising the action of the committee.

“The appropriators clearly understand the urgent threat of Asian carp, and I am grateful to them for heeding our calls to include these key Read More » »

Rep. Dave Camp’s Asian Carp Bill Needs Cosponsors

Michigan’s Congressional delegation is stepping up to the plate to support a bill to help stop the invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. Congressional members form the other Great Lakes states – Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and New York to name a few – need to follow suit.

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) has penned a letter to his colleagues urging them to co-sponsor the Permanent Prevention of Asian Carp Act (HR5625). So far, only Congressional members from Michigan have co-sponsored the legislation.

The act was introduced in the U.S. House and Senate (S. 3553) after a live Asian Read More » »

We’d Like to Thank You, Sen. Carl Levin

We owe a debt of gratitude to Michigan Sen. Carl Levin (D) who called a spade a spade this week when he penned a very direct letter to Indiana’s Governor Mitch Daniels (R) calling out the state’s Department of Natural Resources for down-playing the threat posed by the Asian Carp to the Great Lakes.

“I am deeply concerned about statements made recently by staff in the Indiana Department of Natural Resources regarding the threat of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes via the Wabash River and Little Wabash River,” writes Sen. Levin. “Public statements by the Department staff downplay the Read More » »

Are You a Poster Child for Great Lakes Restoration?

The 2010 Healing Our Waters Coalition – Great Lakes Restoration conference is offering an innovative showcase for restoration projects. On September 23, 2010 during the conference in Buffalo, NY there will be a Happy Hour where firms and organizations engaged in on-the-ground restoration efforts in the Great Lakes region can highlight their projects with a poster.

The foyer of the HOW Coalition conference will be transformed into a sparkling show room accentuating successful restoration activities around the eight state region. This will be a tremendous opportunity to share resources and professional services among conference participants at Read More » »

A New Battle Plan in the Fight against Invasive Species

Start spreading the news, ballast water will be treated someday! And that someday is right around the corner – in just a year-in-a-half ships will not be allowed to enter the Great Lakes unless they are outfitted with the technology to disinfect ballast water and stop the discharging of invasive species. New York’s tough new rule that just passed muster the State’s Court of Appeals will protect the entire Great Lakes region because no ocean-going vessel can enter the lakes without passing through the St. Lawrence Seaway and New York’s territory. There is one more blessing too – Read More » »

The 20lb Carp in the Room

The discovery of a very large Big Head Asian carp above the Chicago electronic barrier has had a welcome and somewhat humbling effect on the three season-long debate we have been having regarding a permanent hydrological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds – we are no longer asking whether we should do it, but how to do it.

From Capitol Hill to the streets of Chicago, politicians, federal and state officials and residents are talking about how to separate the basins with the least negative effect on the economy, in a way that will reduce flooding and keep Read More » »

Bipartisan Senate ActionApproves GLEPA

Republican and Democratic Senators on the Committee on the Environment and Public Works came together today to pass the Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act, as part of the Great Waters package of bills that we have been advocating for over the past months. This is a very positive step forward for the Great Lakes that authorizes more than $650 million for restoration on a multi-year authorization instead of forcing us to work with piecemeal bills on an annual basis. The bill was introduced by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and George Voinovich (R-OH).

Today’s EPW passage of the Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Read More » »

Mr. President: The Asian Carp Crisis has hit ‘Code Red’

Members of the Great Lakes congressional delegation are circulating a letter to President Obama urging him to take aggressive action to solve the Asian carp crisis. Essentially, it’s now ‘code red’ for carp.

We need every U.S. House and Senate member in the region to sign onto the letter by noon on Tuesday, June 29.

The letter begins: “Dear Mr. President, It is with deep regret that we write you today. On Tuesday, June 22, 2010, the first Asian carp was captured in the Chicago area waterway system above the electric barriers.”

The letter asks the Obama Administration to strengthen the Read More » »