[Greylion]

New Bill on Asian Carp Control introduced in Congress
Would require Corps of Engineers to accelerate study/findings on hydrological separation
Senators Stabenow (D-MI) and Durbin (D-IL), and Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI), on June 30 introduced a bill in the U.S. House and Senate that would greatly accelerate the move toward separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins, something we ALL want.

The bill—called the "Permanent Prevention of Asian Carp Act of 2010"- requires the U.S. Army Corps to accelerate a study that determines the feasibility AND the best means of achieving hydrological separation. The companion bills, introduced in both U.S. Chambers, have the same name - "Permanent Prevention of Asian Carp Act of 2010". Neither bill has yet been assigned a number.

We in the conservation community need to stimulate all members of Congress with strong bi-partisan support and a sense of urgency to pass these bills and get them to President Obama's desk ASAP. Contact your members of Congress, and urge them to expedite passage of these bills. Go to: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

There are two main differences between this bill and the corps’ existing authority. First, this bill significantly narrows the scope of the corps’ work—it focuses on Chicago and it says “tell us how to separate” instead of directing the corps to study the full gamut of options throughout the region. Second, it establishes some tight deadlines—an initial report is due in six months with the final report due in a year and a half. Also, the Council on Environmental Quality (the White House), under this bill, would play a role in oversight.

The legislation is consistent with public statements made by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Great Lakes Commission, Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council and other conservation groups: that separation is the only viable end point and that it should be done with all haste.

The bills would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine the feasibility and the best means of achieving hydrological separation of the two watersheds. Hydrological separation is essential in blocking the movement of Asian carp and other invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins via a waterway system in the Chicago area.

“The bill introduced last week, if passed, would set into motion a process that we at the Great Lakes Fishery Commission have long supported—a process to permanently separate the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins,” said Commissioner Michael Hansen, a professor at the U. of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. “This bill directs the corps to tell us how to achieve separation. The bill also establishes some tight deadlines: an initial report is due in six months with the final report due in a year and a half.”

Hansen added: “Asian carp and other invasive species should not be allowed to enter the Great Lakes, harm the ecosystem, and threaten the $7 billion fishery. The only true solution to the invasive species corridor that is the Chicago Waterway System is to separate the two watersheds. This bill provides a path to achieving that goal sooner rather than later".

In the Senate, the legislation is also cosponsored by Carl Levin (D-MI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Roland Burris (D-IL). In the House, the legislation is cosponsored by Michigan Representatives John Dingell, Vern Ehlers, Pete Hoekstra, Dale Kildee, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Sandy Levin, Thaddeus McCotter, Candice Miller, Gary Peters, Mike Rogers, Mark Schauer, Bart Stupak, and Fred Upton.

“Last week’s discovery of an Asian Carp in Lake Calumet was a wake-up call that we need to do more and we need to do it quickly,” said Senator Dick Durbin. “We can’t wait while the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies broadly examine methods of controlling invasive species; we must act now. Our bill creates an expedited study of the feasibility of separating the waterways

The study must begin within 30 days of the bill’s enactment, and the Army Corps must send a progress report to Congress and the President within six months and again in 12 months. The full study must be completed and given to Congress and the President 18 months after the bill is enacted. It will be monitored by the Council on Environmental Quality to ensure its thorough and timely completion.

The study will also address flooding threats, Chicago wastewater, water safety operations, and barge and recreational vessel traffic alternatives. It will examine other modes of transportation for the shipping industry and influence new engineering designs to move canal traffic from one body of water to the other without transferring invasive species.

[honda cat]

I have noticed a quite a few army core john boats on torrance ave they are huge john boats hard to miss we are not far from the O,Brian lock
so some thing is going on out there wish we got more of this kind of up to date info on whats up?
they have been launching there and spending a bunch of time on lake calumet
I would hope they have plans to poison this area because the carp they found there was caught in a net not by poisoning the whole area there has got to more than one huge male fish there and there is nothing between there and the lake to stop them

[Greylion]

Another article of interest.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162- ... 01465.html

[Greylion]

Asian carp: Relocating fish
By Dale Bowmanon July 6, 2010 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
In response to the entry about John Farmer not marking any fish on the Little Cal, Chris McCloud sent this note about relocating fish.
McCloud e-mailed:

Just wanted to point out that the IDNR is relocating sport fish found during sampling above the Lock at Lake Calumet and the Calumet River to below the Lock in an effort to start restocking.

McCloud is the IDNR spokesman and handles those duties for the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee.

No word yet on formal restocking.

[DOUBLE D]

day late and a dollar short, just once id like to see something done before the sh*t hits the fan
hope it covers the carp that are probably out there already.
dd

[Bubbalouie]

Thanks for the heads up Jim. Letters sent!

Now isn't there over 5,000 fishermen on this website alone........

[VocalFisherman]

To quote Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park " Nature finds a way."

No matter what legislation is written, whatever barriers & locks are closed, the fish will end up in the Great Lakes, its inevitable. A good flood here or there and what is in one waterway migrates to another. Closing the IL river will only mean the fish will enter thru another creek or channel of which there are too many to monitor that enter into the lakes... The goal at this point should be find a way to limit the impact not worry about stopping them from coming, that's already too late.

In addition, if you think the only way they'll get into the lakes is up the IL river....you may not have read this last week.

An official with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on Thursday confirmed the recent discovery of an Asian carp spawning bed in the Wabash River in central Indiana, near Logansport. The carp were found about 120 miles downriver from a roughly half-mile wide natural wetland that separates the Wabash River from the Maumee River, which crosses into Ohio and feeds directly into Lake Erie.

[Mark Komo]

This is a big deal out here in buffalo. made the front page of the buffalo sunday paper. Lots of charter boat captains are getting antsy because of the asian carp coming to Erie.

[Storm Warning]

Mark Komo wrote:

This is a big deal out here in buffalo. made the front page of the buffalo sunday paper. Lots of charter boat captains are getting antsy because of the asian carp coming to Erie.

Just my guess but on LM I dont think they will have as much of a impact as they will on lake Erie. Lake Erie is very shallow and it seems these fish tend to live in shallower water I think..I would not want to be boating erie when these fish hit the lake. You will be seeing boats with lexon bulletproof glass for cruising.