New Study Lays Out Permanent Solutions to Stop Asian Carp from Invading Our Great Lakes
Released by the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative called “Restoring the Natural Divide”, the report says separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to prevent the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species is not only possible, but a natural step toward much-needed action to improve Chicago’s water infrastructure.
Senator Levin is circulating a letter (see below), asking other Members of Congress to sign on by this week noon on Thursday, directed at the Army Corps of Engineers letting them know they are expected to utilize this report. We need your continued efforts to help stop the Asian carp. Contact your Members of Congress and ask them to sign onto the Separation Study letter out of Senator Levin’s office. Ask them to do their part in speeding up the Corps study and actions to permanently stop the Asian carp-- and don’t forget to post on their Facebook page and tweet it! Let your Members of Congress know before Thursday:
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- The study refocuses the Great Lakes region on a long-term permanent solution and away from stopgap measures that, on their own, will ultimately fail to stop the Asian carp’s march to Lake Michigan.
- The GLC-GLSLCI study clearly demonstrates that separation is possible, providing detailed background on three separation options that allow elected officials and community leaders to move the discussion to the next level.
- Since 2009, multiple hits of Asian carp DNA have been found lakeward of an electric barrier meant to keep the fish out of Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes. More recently, carp DNA has been reported in waters open to Lake Michigan.
- This study points the way to a solution that not only benefits the Great Lakes states, but also Canadian and Mississippi River stakeholders. Most of North America will ecologically and economically benefit from separating the two basins.
- The Army Corps of Engineers is dragging their feet, expecting to release their study findings, at the earliest, in 2015. This is too long – our Great Lakes are too important. We need to speed up the Corps efforts to find and implement a permanent solution.
Separation Study Letter Language
The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy
Assistant Secretary of the Army
Department of the Army, Civil Works
108 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0108
Dear Secretary Darcy:
As Members of Congress who care deeply about the Great Lakes and the economic and environmental benefits this natural treasure provides, we want to call your attention to a report released on January 31, 2012 by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. This report, Restoring the Natural Divide, analyzes various engineering options to separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins in the Chicago Area Waterway System to prevent inter-basin movement of harmful aquatic invasive species including Asian carp.
The Army Corps of Engineers is conducting its own study, the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), which is a comprehensive study of multiple aquatic pathways and control strategies, including hydrologic separation of the basins. The new report, Restoring the Natural Divide, provides the Corps with a large amount of information concerning engineering design, economic impacts, flood and stormwater management, and water quality impacts that should be of benefit to the Corps’ analysis of hydrologic separation. We ask how the Corps will use the thorough analysis provided in this new report, and how the Corps will be able to shorten its timeframe for completing the GLMRIS by incorporating the new information contained in the report.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to your prompt reply.
Sincerely,
