By John Flesher
AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY (AP) -- The federal government is committed to keeping Asian carp out of the Great Lakes and is putting a strategy in place as quickly as possible, despite complaints of foot-dragging, the Obama administration's point man on the issue said last week.
John Goss, Asian carp director in the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said agencies had made significant progress in 2010 that includes adding a third tier to an electric barrier south of Chicago and erecting fencing to stop the unwanted fish from reaching Lakes Michigan or Erie by hopscotching across tributary waterways during flooding.
Efforts this year will include researching ways to disrupt their breeding, detecting any Asian carp beyond the barrier and getting commercial fishermen to remove 1 million pounds of the pest below it, he said.
"This is going to be a significant challenge for a long time," Goss said during a public meeting in Traverse City. Still, he added, "We have an opportunity to stop it. I believe we will be successful."
Goss and officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hosted the sixth in a series of 12 planned sessions across the Great Lakes region to explain their carp battle plan and receive feedback.
Asian species known as bighead and silver carp have migrated up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers for decades and are on the doorstep of Lake Michigan, held back by the electric barrier about 25 miles south of Chicago. Scientists say if they reach the lakes, the hungry, prolific plankton eaters could endanger the $7 billion fishing industry by unraveling the aquatic food web.
Michigan is among five Great Lakes states suing the Army Corps over its handling of the carp threat -- particularly its refusal to close two navigational locks on Chicago-area waterways that could provide a pathway to Lake Michigan. The others states are Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.
They also want the Corps to move faster on a comprehensive study of ways to prevent invasive species from moving between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River drainage basins, including the states' preferred option: severing the man-made hydrological link between the two systems created a century ago by re-engineering rivers and canals near Chicago.
The Corps says it will complete the study in 2015, which critics say isn't fast enough, with Asian carp bearing down on Lake Michigan and other potential invaders waiting in the wings. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who attended the recent meeting, said the Corps should finish its work in 18 months.
"If we keep dragging out these studies and surveys, we'll find the Asian carp have reached the Great Lakes and that's just an unacceptable risk to our environment and our economy," Schuette said.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Goss said the government would look for opportunities to file interim reports that could build momentum for quicker action once the final document is released. They might include scientific data on potential invaders, cost-benefit analyses and descriptions of technologies that could be used to separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds, he said.
The interim reports also could lead to short-term steps such as last year's construction of a 1,177-foot fence to close off a potential path to Lake Erie from the Wabash River near Fort Wayne, Ind., said David Werthington, the Army Corps' study director. Such actions "would reduce the risk, if nothing else, of Asian carp passing through a particular waterway while we're developing a long-term solution," he said.
"It's not going to be 2015 before you see anything from us," Werthington told the Traverse City audience.
Marc Smith of the National Wildlife Federation said a study being conducted by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative of ways to separate the two drainage basins should provide information that would enable the Army Corps to issue its report sooner.
"We just don't see why it should take five years from start to finish," Smith said. "There's just a lack of urgency on the part of the Corps."
John Pampu, whose company in nearby Interlochen manufactures trolling systems for deep-sea fishing, said fear of the carp was widespread among businesses that cater to anglers who pursue sport species such as salmon and walleye.
"If they take over the Great Lakes, it'll totally kill the industry," said Pampu, 43. "Without a food source for salmon, there won't be any salmon to catch."
Published: Wed, Feb 2, 2011
