{"id":375581,"date":"2010-03-01T11:41:22","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T16:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.circleofblue.org\/waternews\/?p=12038"},"modified":"2010-03-01T11:41:22","modified_gmt":"2010-03-01T16:41:22","slug":"block-those-flying-fish-great-lakes-politicians-pressure-illinois-washington-on-asian-carp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/375581","title":{"rendered":"Block Those Flying Fish: Great Lakes Politicians Pressure Illinois, Washington on Asian Carp"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Asian<\/p>\n
Photo © J. Carl Ganter\/Circle of Blue<\/div>\n
Last month local and federal politicians from the Great Lakes region hosted a conference in Michigan to rally support for immediate action against the Asian carp. Officials discussed proposed legislation and the ongoing battle to close off the Great Lakes from the infested Illinois River. <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Michigan\u2019s attorney general and U.S. Rep. Dave Camp host a second event to rally support in Traverse City.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Steve Kellman
\nCircle of Blue<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than 100 anglers, business executives and residents packed the glass atrium at Northwestern Michigan College\u2019s Hagerty Conference Center last week to hear Michigan\u2019s attorney general describe the threat to the Great Lakes from Asian carp–an ugly and voracious jumping fish that\u2019s banging on the door to the world\u2019s largest and body of clean, fresh water.<\/p>\n

The Feb. 17 meeting was the second gathering of state and federal officials in Traverse City in the last two weeks. Great Lakes politicians have been rallying the public\u2019s support to seal off Chicago-area locks that are thought to be entryways to the lakes for the invasive species. The effort is part of a broader legal push to seal off the century-old Chicago Waterway System from the Great Lakes, ending the back-and-forth migration of the invasive species that has plagued the lakes and Mississippi River system for decades.<\/p>\n

Posters of the menacing fish, in all their gape-mouthed glory, served as the meeting’s backdrop. The snowy shore and choppy grey waters of Grand Traverse Bay dominated the view through the two-story glass wall, extending into the distance where the bay joins the rest of Lake Michigan.<\/p>\n

Asian carp, which can weigh up to 100 pounds and grow up to four feet long, have overtaken large stretches of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers since being imported into the U.S. While no one is sure how well they would adapt to the colder, deeper waters of the Great Lakes, experts say the risk of major damage is too great.<\/p>\n

A Flipping, Flying Aquatic Menace<\/strong>
\nKelley Smith, fisheries division chief for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment, told attendees at the meeting last week that the carp would place an added burden on an ecosystem already stressed by the invasive zebra mussel and quagga mussel. The bighead variety of Asian carp can eat up to 40 percent of their weight in plankton each day. While the fish may not overrun the deeper parts of Lake Michigan, they may be right at home in the many rivers and streams that flow into the lake, and could affect the fishing there.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if these carp don\u2019t affect fishing in those rivers, they will affect the boaters,\u201d Smith said. The silver variety of Asian carp\u2014which can weigh up o 40 pounds\u2014are known for jumping in the air at the sound of motors, injuring boaters and knocking them out of their boats.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 6, four state representatives\u2014Gary McDowell (D-Rudyard), Andy Neumann (D-Alpena), Dan Scripps (D-Leelanau), and Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City)\u2014gathered on the banks of the Boardman River to discuss how the invasive fish threatens the Great Lakes’ ecosystem. The legislators used the occasion to announce the launch of a Web site backed by Michigan House Democrats-\u2014NoAsianCarp.com\u2014-with a petition urging Illinois officials to close the locks.<\/p>\n

The Web site is joined by a similar project from Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, StopAsianCarp.com, which has its own petition that calls on President Obama and the U.S. Congress to close the locks. Cox, a Republican, is a candidate for governor.<\/p>\n

A Rare Issue That Unites Both Parties<\/strong>
\nWhile the earlier riverside rally was dominated by Democrats, and the more recent Hagerty Conference Center meeting was led by Republicans, speakers at both gatherings insisted that the issue has galvanized both parties. Officials have also argued that the state\u2019s two political parties are united in sealing off the waterways.
\nU.S. Representative Dave Camp, a Republican from Michigan, opened Wednesday\u2019s meeting with a history of the Asian carp\u2019s long migration up the Mississippi River and a review of his recently introduced CARP ACT (Close All Routes and Prevent Asian Carp Today) legislation, which would close the locks, install other protections and mitigate any impact on Chicago commerce.<\/p>\n

\"Flying<\/p>\n
Photo © J. Carl Ganter\/Circle of Blue<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis legislation has support from both Republicans and Democrats in Michigan, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin,\u201d Camp said, noting that Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) has introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

Asian carp have been ranked the most threatening invasive species in the world, Camp said. He also rattled off what’s at stake if fish take over the Great Lakes region, including a $7 billion sportfishing industry, a $9 billion boating industry, as well as the 800,000 jobs that both support.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Cox praised Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm for her work to get the locks to be closed immediately and for disapproving of the federal government\u2019s inaction against the fish. He also noted that his legal efforts have drawn support from most of the other Great Lakes states.<\/p>\n

While the Republican attorney generals of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as the Democratic attorney generals of New York, Ohio and Minnesota have supported Michigan\u2019s stance, Indiana\u2019s Republican leadership remains split on the issue. Indiana Republican Governor Mitch Daniels opposes closing the locks while the state’s Republican Attorney General Greg Zoeller has filed a court brief supporting Cox\u2019s legal actions.<\/p>\n

Illinois Leaders Push Back<\/strong>
\nOnly political officials in Illinois, home to the carp-infested waterways in question, are united in opposing the immediate closure of the locks. And while President Obama, a resident of Chicago who represented Illinois in the state and U.S. Senate, initially sided with Illinois on the issue, he is now taking on a middle-ground approach.<\/p>\n

Federal authorities have backed the $78.5 million Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework, which outlines 24 recommendations for battling the carp. The federal government also supports more research on the potential economic and environmental effects the fish will have on the lake. Once results are in, the administration said it could support closing the locks by April at the earliest. The framework document notes, however, that even with the locks closed carp may still be able to get through since the structures are not watertight.<\/p>\n

At a Feb. 12 EPA hearing in Chicago, where dozens of local businesspeople and boat captains railed against the possibility of any lock closures, Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-Hinsdale) warned that such closures would have an \u201cabsolutely devastating impact\u201d on the local, regional and national economy, and result in \u201cmassive flooding\u201d and high unemployment. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile Cox deemed those arguments as \u201cdramatically overstated\u201d at the Traverse City rally, noting that a study by Dr. John C. Taylor, a transportation expert with Wayne State University, pegged the maximum economic impact of lock closures at $70 million. Dr. Taylor\u2019s study found that the closures would likely result in an increase in jobs overall as other transportation sources take up the slack on the region\u2019s already-declining barge industry.<\/p>\n

Washington Slow to Respond<\/strong>
\nCox also said that the locks could be opened on an emergency basis to guard against flooding, which has historically happened an average of once every 10 years. Rep. Camp\u2019s CARP ACT legislation also allows for emergency opening of the locks.<\/p>\n

While Cox had words of praise for the $78.5 million Asian carp control plan, he noted that only about $9 million of the funding is new. He urged meeting attendees to push for faster federal action, and said StopAsianCarp.com is one way of doing so, \u201cto activate the citizen militia, as it were.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lack of urgency from Washington is nothing new, Cox added. \u201cThe Bush administration was really slow on addressing this issue as well,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve all been pushing Washington over a number of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Kellman is a reporter for Circle of Blue. Contact Kellman at steve@circleofblue.org<\/a> and read the rest of our carp content here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Asian<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo © J. Carl Ganter\/Circle of Blue Last month local and federal politicians from the Great Lakes region hosted a conference in Michigan to rally support for immediate action against the Asian carp. Officials discussed proposed legislation and the ongoing battle to close off the Great Lakes from the infested Illinois River. Michigan\u2019s attorney general […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4010,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-375581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}