Big fund will be used to keep the invasive Asian Carp from infiltrating Lake Michigan. It is informed that these funds are to shore up low lying areas between the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the gateway into the lake. The money is not earmarked for closure of the waterway as recently proposed by some environmental groups and officials from other states.
Zachary Cikanek, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale, added that they expect the funding that will go towards efforts to block the carp from bypassing the barriers, not for the permanent waterway closures others have suggested. Recently, a group of state agencies known as the Asian Carp Rapid Response Group poisoned a portion of the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal to keep the carp from reaching the other side of the barrier while a portion of the electric system was taken down for routine maintenance.
Experts believe that many big and small Asian carp are dead and sunk to the bottom. Netting operations along the waterway closer to the lake in areas where the DNA was discovered failed to yield any actual fish bodies, yet some believe the evidence is enough to prove Asian carp are on their way.
Asian carp are voracious eaters who will prey on and compete with native fish for food, living space and spawning areas. They are capable of eating up to 40 percent of their body weight every day and can grow to 150 pounds. Michigan officials recently said they are preparing a lawsuit demanding at least temporary closure of the shipping locks, part of the 300-mile waterway linking the state and others with the
It is said that this money comes at an extremely critical time in our battle to keep the Asian carp out of Lake Michigan and protect its fragile ecosystem from a potentially devastating invasion of Asian carp. The carp are at our doorstep, and this is an all-hands-on-deck situation for our environmental managers at the federal, state and local level.
