White House

Long-Range Thinking Could Save Chicago From Asian Carp Catastrophe

The Chicago Tribune ran a story about the economic damage that closing the locks would cause to the cities summer tourist industry. The Army Corps is considering limiting the number of times the locks are opened and closed to hamper the spread of the Asian carp into Lake Michigan. But worrying over this tourist season is short- term thinking because if the fish get a foothold in the canals and eventually the lakes the tourism industry will suffer a much more serious blow.

The reason is simple: no one will want to take tour boats through a sea of Read More » »

Does The White House Plan Add Up to Zero Tolerance for Asian Carp?

The White House has promised a zero tolerance policy toward new invasive species and they believe that the draft Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework released today at the summit meeting with Great Lakes Governors is proof positive that they are taking this issue seriously.

White House Counsel for Environmental Quality Chief, Nancy Sutley described the multitier plan of defense as evidence of an unparalleled federal effort. Charles Wooley, deputy regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service pronounced with conviction “we are doing everything humanly possible to keep these fish out of Lake Michigan.”

Except shutting the locks. Michigan’s Governor Jennifer Read More » »

Asian Carp Summit Reveals White House Strategy For Fighting Asian Carp

Despite a historic snowfall in the Nation’s Capitol, the White House met with Great Lakes Governors and unveiled both short term and long-term strategies to deal with the Asian Carp. They did not call for the locks to be closed permanently but they did call for a reduced number of lock openings by early March 2010.

EPA has helped to develop this coordinated strategy on such an urgent issue and assisted in building a coalition to act to keep Asian carp from becoming established in the Great Lakes,” stated EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson in press release. “The combined resources Read More » »

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding Still In President’s Budget

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 2011 maintained a line in the President’s new budget released this a.m. but it was cut from $475 million to $300 million. Last year, President Barack Obama used his first budget to provide money for the Great Lakes to use toward restoration efforts. As the first US President to do this, Obama was following through on a campaign pledge he made to our eight states. In a year when there is a budget freeze for many discretionary programs and also lots of cuts, the Great Lakes remained important enough for the White House to Read More » »

HOW Sends EPA Comprehensive Plan of Attack

Yesterday, the Healing Our Waters Coalition sent Great Lakes Czar Cameron Davis a comprehensive 12-point plan to halt the advance of the Asian Carp. We have to stop the fish from getting a foothold in the Great Lakes ecosystem and this calls for immediate action.

The recommendations are as follows:
- Temporarily close the locks leading to Lake Michigan.
- Stop reacting to each bit of news, instead outline the possible scenarios agencies expect to face in the near term and delineate what actions should be triggered by each event. (For example: how much eDNA evidence would trigger the use of fish poison?)
- Take steps to Read More » »

Asian Carp Summit Will Happen February 8, 2010

In response to the finding of Asian Carp eDNA in the Calumet Harbor on Lake Michigan, and the failure of the US Supreme Court to invoke an injunction closing the locks to help stem any carp advance, the Great Lakes Governors asked the White House to hold a summit. That summit will happen on February 8, 2010 at the White House, according to the Council on Environmental Quality.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will attend the meeting at 2:30 that day. As for the Administration, Nancy Sutley, Chair of the CEQ, officials from Read More » »

Pressure Mounts for White House to Make a Public Effort on Carp Issue

Editorials blanket the Midwest calling for President Barack Obama to step in and do something immediately to stop the advance of the Asian carp into the Great Lakes ecosystem. While the Administration has dedicated funds to deal with the carp and promised to meet with Great Lakes Governors the first week in February, the people in the Great Lakes region do not feel like the Administration is taking the problem seriously enough.

Read what the papers and people are saying:

The Port Huron Times News Herald:The federal government’s wrong-headed response to the Asian carp invasion of the Great Lakes is one Read More » »

Great Lakes Stakeholders Ask CEQ to Include Them In Asian Carp Strategy Session

Within 24 hours of Great Lakes Governors request for a White House Summit on Asian Carp, CEQ Head Nancy Sutley agreed to a meeting the first week of February. Now, HOW and other Great Lakes stakeholders are sending a letter to the White House asking to be included in the meeting.

It is essential that our entire region, our entire community be involved in creating a successful battle plan to prevent the Asian Carp from gaining a foothold in the Great Lakes.

Sutley’s invitation was extended to the Great Lakes Governors and their “designees” with the purpose of the meeting to Read More » »

White House Puts Asian Carp Summit Off Until February

Yesterday, HOW learned from the White House that they would welcome a meeting with the Great Lakes Governors to discuss the Asian carp threat, but last night E&E News reported that such a meeting wouldn’t happen before February.

After the US Supreme Court failed to invoke an injunction forcing the closure of the locks, and more Asian Carp eDNA was found in the mouth of Lake Michigan, Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Gov. James Doyle of Wisconsin asked the White House for an immediate meeting on the topic. In response, White House CEQ Nancy Sutley wrote a letter recommending Read More » »

Feds Invest In Stopping Asian Carp

As invasive species, Asian Carp were always going get some fiscal attention from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding, and now EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, has announced that $13 million will go directly to trying to stop the carp from entering via the Des Plaines River and for continued DNA testing in the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal.

Sen. Carl Levin and the Great Lakes Task Force have been working feverishly over the past couple weeks to ensure that federal agencies had enough money to try and stop the Asian Carp. They expect to circulate a letter late this week Read More » »