Keep the Asian Carp Out of the Great Lakes!
Known to batter boaters and even knock them into the water at the sound of a passing motor, Asian carp are voracious filter feeders that can grow to more than 4 feet long, weigh up to 100 pounds and quickly dominate a body of water by gobbling up the same food that sustains native fish populations. It is essential that we keep them out of Lake Michigan!
At this point, the state of Illinois has the power to close the navigational locks to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. While the state of Michigan filed lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court on December 21, 2009, more public pressure is needed to insist that the state of Illinois act quickly. At this point Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, and the Province of Ontario have all joined forces with Michigan in an effort to force the state of Illinois to close the locks. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has recently joined Illinois, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in opposition to the plan, saying that, despite evidence to the contrary, the carp are not yet close enought to the Great Lakes to justify closing the locks.
Closing the locks offers a temporary fix until a long-term solution can be implemented—namely, separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River. If this does not happen, the Great Lakes are in for the worst ecological and economic disaster since the invasion of zebra mussels, which regulating ballast water could have prevented and remains important for the long-term health of the Lakes.
>Superior Telegram_Time to end Chicago's thievery.pdf
>Huffington Post_Illinois response to Asian Carp shameful.pdf
> Chicago Tribune_Shut Corridors to Great Lakes.pdf
> Detroit Free Press_Regulate Ballast.pdf
> Detroit Free Press_Close the Waterways and Poison the Carp.pdf