keeping carp from G Lakes

[Lee Borgersen]

 Agency delays plan for keeping Asian carp from Great Lakes

Associated Press · Mar 1, 2017

  .............
"After a lengthy review process, which included extensive outreach and collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders, it seems that the administration has decided to side with a narrow group of special interests intent on preventing actions to address the movement of Asian Carp toward Lake Michigan," Stabenow said.

Asian carp were imported in the early 1970s to feed on scummy algae and plants in Southern fish farms and sewage ponds. They escaped into the Mississippi River and have migrated northward since, reaching dozens of tributaries.

Two Asian species — bighead and silver carp — feed on huge volumes of plankton that forms the base of aquatic food chains. They have infested the Illinois River, which connects with other waterways that reach Lake Michigan at Chicago.

The question of how to keep the carp from reaching the lake has divided the region. Some states, including Michigan, want barriers placed in the Chicago waterways, which Illinois and Indiana say would disrupt cargo shipping.

The Army Corps has been looking into a variety of measures that could be taken at Brandon Road, perhaps including installation of additional electric barriers.

In a Feb. 23 letter to President Donald Trump, 16 Republicans in Congress — mostly from Illinois and Indiana — called for delaying the Army Corps study until a new assistant secretary of the Army for civil works is appointed.

They argued that more than 5 million pounds of Asian carp had been removed from the waterway in recent years and the leading edge of the Asian carp population was still well below Brandon Road.

The Army Corps "should not hastily recommend a structural alternative that could negatively impact the economy and the safety of towboat crews," said the lawmakers, who included Reps. Rodney Davis of Illinois and Todd Rokita of Indiana.

Molly Flanagan of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, an environmental group, said there was "no credible reason" for further delay of the draft report.

[Lee Borgersen]

 Nolan urges Trump to reverse Asian carp decision

 Mar 3, 2017 at 11:48 p.m.


  ........
WASHINGTON—U.S. Rep Rick Nolan in a letter Friday urged President Donald Trump to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to immediately engage with local and state governments, as well as fisheries and other interested groups, to implement a long-term solution for keeping Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes. Nolan also urged that in the meantime, Trump should reverse the decision to suspend the vital ongoing study at Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Ill., a news release said.

Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Ill., a news release said.
"This suspension jeopardizes numerous industries in Minnesota and Wisconsin, including our nation's $7 billion sport fishing market, $16 billion boating industry, and $18 billion hunting and wildlife observation market," Nolan said in the letter. "There is a consensus that the threat is real, and unfortunately efforts to solve the problem are now mired in bureaucratic inaction. Further delay only increases the likelihood that this threat becomes a full scale, irreversible inundation of this highly destructive invasive species."
Nolan has long been a leader in invasive species prevention, the news release said. He led the effort to close the Lock and Dam at St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis as a step toward containing Asian Carp and preventing them from traveling north to infest and wreak havoc on Northern Minnesota's sport fishing industry and the hundreds of millions of dollars in good paying jobs and economic benefits it supports, the release said.

Bad Move Donald tut_tut-3315.gif
"The Trump Administration's decision to halt the study undermines this progress," Nolan said.

Joining Nolan on the letter are U.S. representatives Mike Bishop, Bill Huizenga, Marcy Kaptur, Fred Upton, Paul Mitchell, Mike Quigley, Jack Bergman, David Joyce, Justin Amash, Louise Slaughter and Debbie Dingell.

DNR East Metro Fisheries Specialist Tim Ohmann holding the carp caught in the St. Croix River on April 19, 2012. MN DNR

 

[LPS]

I'm thinking the Donald doesn't even know what this conversation is about.  I'm also thinking he never hung out down by the creek when he was a kid. 

[mike89]

let alone, be in the woods?

[Lee Borgersen]

I agree that the last two posts are very relevant to this discussion.

[dew2]

let alone, be in the woods?

Cant see the forest through the trees,Sure willl help big $$$$ avoid any hassles DOWN WIT DA EPA!!!

[mike89]

will be interesting.

[The General]

Someone just needs to tell Trump they are illegal immigrant fish and he will correct the situation.

[Easy]

MICHIGAN TO OFFER PRIZE IN FIGHT AGAINST INVASIVE ASIAN CARP
BY CHRIS EHRMANN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Faced with the threat that Asian carp could enter the Great Lakes, Michigan is turning to the public for new ideas and plans to offer a prize to whoever comes up with a way to stop the voracious fish.

Michigan's global search challenge comes after the U.S. government and others have spent hundreds of millions searching for a solution to stop the carp from entering the world's largest freshwater system. If they aren't stopped, officials fear the aggressive fish will crowd out prize native fish and hamper recreational boating in large sections of the lakes, which stretch from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan in the west to New York and Pennsylvania in the east and from Ontario, Canada, in the north to Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in the south.

"I think in the fight against Asian carp, there aren't really any bad ideas," said Molly Flanagan, vice president of policy for the Alliance for the Great Lakes. "We have to try a bunch of different things."

Michigan alone has a $38 billion tourism industry, much of it focused on the outdoors, and the Great Lakes region has a $7 billion fishing industry. Asian carp have been spotted 45 miles from Lake Michigan. If the fish make it into that lake, they could make their way into the other Great Lakes.

Details on how much prize money will be offered are still being worked out. Officials also haven't determined how many winners might be chosen.

The Michigan Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder allocated $1 million to develop the challenge. Most of the money will go toward a prize for an idea or ideas that are deemed feasible, Michigan Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Joanne Foreman said. The rest will be used to create the challenge, which includes working with InnoCentive, a crowdsourcing company that will host the event online. The campaign is expected to go live this summer.

"Somebody out there possibly could have a really good idea," Foreman said. "Maybe they're not in fisheries or hydro-engineering."..."

[Rebel SS]

Put little masks on them so they look like walleyes. A certain group will net all of 'em outta there.