Threats

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 » »

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 » »

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 » »

A Bighead Carp is Caught in Chicago Area Waterway System; Time for Action is Now

An adult bighead carp has been caught in Lake Calumet along the Chicago Area Waterway System, according to the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee. It is the first one found in the waterway system beyond an electronic fence that is supposed to prevent the fish from entering Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes.

Since last year, Great Lakes advocates have been demanding quick action to stop the invasive species from getting into Lake Michigan. The discovery of a nearly three-foot-long fish that weighs almost 20 pounds should be a wake-up call to speed up efforts to hydrologically separate the Read More » »

Challenge Hopes to Stop US Army Corps Practice of “Open Lake Dumping”

Poor Lake Erie, as if it didn’t have enough challenges to deal with – sewage overflows, invasive species and habitat destruction. Now the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has gotten the green light to dump massive amounts of sediment – as much as 800,000 cubic yards – directly into the Western Basin of the Lake. This practice – so-called “open lake dumping” – harms fish, destroys habitat and encourages slick, stinky algae. The practice undermines efforts to restore the Great Lakes ecology and economy. That’s why leading conservation groups recently challenged the U.S. Army Corps in court.

“Open-lake dumping harms Read More » »

Conservation Groups Praise U.S. Senators for Action on Asian Carp, Invasive Species

Great Lakes senators urge Army Corps to study how to build physical barrier to prevent invasive species from traveling between Great Lakes, Mississippi River

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (May 24, 2010)-Conservation groups today praised U.S. senators for taking action to stop the movement of aquatic invasive species like the Asian carp between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. In a letter to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Great Lakes senators are urging Congress to direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study how to build a physical barrier between two of North America’s largest freshwater ecosystems.

The letter to Read More » »

Congress Considers Opening the Spigot for Safe Drinking Water

The Great Lakes serve up drinking water for 40 million people, but the region’s infrastructure is old and in need of improvement. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the Great Lakes need about $75 billion to fix our aging system that controls our drinking water.

This week, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce introduced legislation that would increase funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund – a program that gives states loans for drinking water treatment, storage facilities, transmission and distribution systems and for consolidation of the systems.

Congressmen Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Read More » »

US Supreme Court Punts on Asian Carp

Today, the Supreme Court announced that it will not reopen the century-old case known as the “Chicago Diversion Case” brought by six Great Lakes states against Illinois. Michigan has led the charge in an attempt to halt the advance of Asian carp fish into Lake Michigan.

The original suit was brought by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox at Governor Jennifer Granholm’s request and it included an injunction to close the locks on the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal to halt the fish after fish eDNA was found in the canal past the electronic barrier and in the Calumet Harbor of Read More » »

US Supreme Court to Decide Tomorrow if it will Hear Great Lakes Case

Tomorrow, the US Supreme Court will meet in a private session to decide if they will reopen the nearly century old case involving Illinois diversion of Lake Michigan water. Michigan and five other Great Lakes states have petitioned the court to hear the case because Asian carp have used the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal to make their way toward the Great Lakes ecosystem. The court has twice rejected an injunction that would force the closure of the locks as a temporary way to stop the advancement of the invasive fish.

The Court will announce sometime next Monday whether or not Read More » »