can't they simply shock the lock every time some thing goes through it and pick them up as they float to the top of the lock??? the DEC shocks trout here in the trout streams every spring at the ladders when they do the count, samey/same
Posted on 12/16/2010 3:25:30 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
The Obama administration on Thursday released its 2011 battle plan in the ongoing fight to keep Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes, a plan that calls for no waterway closures in the Chicago area. Less than three hours later, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced plans to push ahead with a court fight to order the waterways closed.
Earlier this month, federal Judge Robert Dow Jr. denied a request for a preliminary injunction by Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania to close two navigation locks in Chicago as an emergency, stopgap measure to block the carp.
The judge did not rule on the larger request by the states to force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move ahead with plans to build a permanent barrier on the canal system to re-create the natural separation between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi basin that the Chicago canals destroyed over a century ago.
Cox said the five-state coalition is pressing ahead with its case to permanently separate the basins, but in the meantime the states are going to take their case to close the locks to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
"Although our suit continues to move forward, the urgent threat that Asian carp pose requires that we aggressively pursue this preliminary injunction," Cox said in a statement. "Until the federal government takes effective action, Michigan and our Great Lakes partners will take full advantage of every opportunity we have to ensure our livelihood is not destroyed by Asian carp."
It will be Cox's fourth attempt this year to get the courts to close the locks; the U.S. Supreme Court twice denied the request before Dow declined it on Dec. 2.
Business groups and many political leaders in Illinois fiercely opposed the idea of closing the locks because of the impact it could have on barge traffic, recreational boats, barge-dependent industries and floodwater management in the Chicago area.
In Washington, D.C., meanwhile, the Obama administration released its "Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework," a 63-page document put together by 21 state and federal agencies that calls for increased "environmental" DNA testing for Asian carp in the Chicago canal system, more assessments of the effectiveness of an electric barrier system and a plan to develop new carp traps and nets, among other things.
"The Obama administration has taken an aggressive, unprecedented approach to protect our Great Lakes and the communities and economies that depend on them from the Asian carp," John Goss, Asian carp director for the Whitehouse Council on Environmental Quality, said in a news release.
"This framework builds on the successes we accomplished in 2010 by leveraging cross government regional coordination on immediate preventative actions and multi-tiered strategies for the longer term."
Conservationists weren't wowed. They've been critical of the Obama's administration's slow progress toward what they see as the only real solution to the problem - physically plugging the canals with permanent barriers.
"The 'plan' remains an unintegrated menu of disconnected potential actions, random activities, and no sense of what will be done with new evidence of carp on emergency or long-term basis," said Henry Henderson of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "There is no articulated strategy, no sense of urgency, no apparent commitment to use the best tools such as (environmental) DNA to focus immediate action and build toward a permanent solution."
The industry group Unlock our Jobs expressed gratitude that the 2011 plan doesn't call for closure of any waterways, but it called the continued use of environmental DNA to track the fish "quite troubling."
Water samples taken above the electric barrier in the past year have yielded evidence of Asian carp all over the Chicago metropolitan area, but industry groups have questioned whether a positive sample means a live fish is in the area.
"It (environmental DNA sampling) has not been peer-tested and - even further - has been seriously questioned by many in the scientific community," said Mark Biel, chairman of UnLock Our Jobs.
Caught in the middle of the fight over how to deal with one of the most vexing environmental and economic problems to face the Great Lakes in modern times is Goss, whom many in the media have dubbed the "carp czar."
In an interview Wednesday, Goss noted that it is his job to keep the carp from getting into the lakes, but he acknowledged that responsibility comes with no real authority to take action.
"It's my job to coordinate the resources to stop the fish, that's accurate," he said. "I don't have full authority to order any actions."
When asked who will be held accountable if the federal efforts fail to keep the fish from invading, Goss paused for nine seconds before answering: "Well, Congress hasn't given anybody that job, that I know of."
can't they simply shock the lock every time some thing goes through it and pick them up as they float to the top of the lock??? the DEC shocks trout here in the trout streams every spring at the ladders when they do the count, samey/same
The only reason he wants to let the carp in is so he can create a need to grab even more money for erradication efforts. I’m sure plenty of reasons to place more restrictions on sportfishing will arise in the process.
One of the Carp from Chicago made it all the way to the White House.
They forgot to tell who “Goss” is: http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/john-goss-asian-carp-federal-czar-oversee-obama-20100909
Cameron Davis - great lakes czar - environmental activist (president of the alliance for the great lakes).
John Goss - Carp czar - environmental activist.
Funny thing is that both men have the same basic job descriptions and both are supposed to deal with invasive species.
They should swim to the Klamath basin, where fish are appreciated...
“These carp are those fun carp, that leap out of the water when you approach with a boat.”
There should be a way to net them when they’re air borne. That would be a huge supply of protein that could be used any number of ways.
And don’t forget the Zebra Mussels!
Our GORGEOUS clear, clean waterways and lakes (largest fresh-water mass ANYWHERE on the PLANET!) are turning into a Freak Show hosting every invasive species imaginable!
Liberals included... :)
Aside from the alewife and grayling...you’re making me DROOL! :)
Thank God it’s FRIDAY tomorrow - Fish Fry at our house. And you?
‘Old Fashioneds’ for starters, then the ‘Salad Bar’ (which contains NO lettuce or lettuce substitutes) and the Cracker Basket with a big crock of ‘Processed Cheese Spread’ for dippin’! LOL!
Then, on to the Main Event... :)
“We should no longer let a tiny group of self important, crooked, blow hards destroy the greatest country on earth.”
Amen to that! :)
“One of the Carp from Chicago made it all the way to the White House.”
BUMPITY-BUMP-BUMP-BUMP! :)
I’ve been thinking about setting a couple of tip ups out in front of the house tomorrow. I can watch them from the living room.
I need a new boyfriend that’ll take me fishing. I really miss fishing...
My two best Gal Pals that are ‘Fisherwomen Bar None’ live in TN and ID. Too far to travel to fish.
And the ice is kinda slushy in TN, LOL!
I don’t fish as much as I used to. Mostly due to the fact that most of my friends live on the far side of the county.
Uh...what?
LOL yep.
Yup, this is a good idea. Seal the Chicago Sanitary Canal to save the Great Lakes from carp and return the crap to Chicago where it belongs.
Simply a brilliant plan I tell you. A for sure shovel ready project to start ASAP!!!!
Zebra mussels are a major nuisance, but they certainly clear up the water. I remember fishing in the St Lawrence years ago and there was algae so green you couldn’t see below a foot. The last time I was there about 6 years ago you could read a newspaper 20 feet below. The Ontario end was clearer than I had ever seen it in the past 40 years. I was disappointed the last time there as the perch appeared to be smaller than usual. I hear the lake now has European river rasps and flounders?? Different fish can also mean different excitement. I’m sure the pike and muskies don’t mind.
I don’t think Yellow Perch will ever be coming back to the levels we remeember as kids.
We need an advocate! Maybe we could get one of those nekkid PETA chicks to paint herself up as a Yellow Perch and live in an aquarium for a week or so in Times Square? LOL!
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