Northwest Indiana Discussion

The government should kill off all the fish in Lake county to protect the children of Crown Point their parents are feeding them to many toxic fish from the areas polluted streams and rivers there should also be a hot-line were you can report a distressed homeowner feeding his family carp everyday.

Agitating, G? Seems like you're throwing a lot of "carp" around!

Yep lol !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SPRINGFIELD | Illinois may be on its own in the battle to keep the invasive Asian Carp out of Lake Michigan.

One of the advocates for the Great Lakes said the state has waited too long to find a permanent solution, and now other lake states are demanding that something be done.

Minnesota on Monday became the latest state to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to try and keep the carp, which currently is in the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, from the Great Lakes.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson added her support to Michigan's efforts before the high court.

Michigan filed a suit earlier this month that would force Illinois to close several rivers and man-made canals that link the state's waterways with Lake Michigan. Ohio has also asked for action from the Supreme Court. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray wants the high court to order a review of the current plans to keep the carp out of the lakes. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office is reviewing the suit.

Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes said Illinois has relied on an electric barrier, and earlier this month, a massive dose of toxin to keep the invasive fish out of Lake Michigan.

He said none of it has worked.

"Now that we're at the point that fish DNA is being found 20 miles upstream above where the barriers are located, I think it's high time that people started asking the hard questions. And I think that's what Michigan is doing," said Brammeier.

The Alliance for the Great Lakes is a supporter of Michigan's suit before the nation's highest court.

But Brammeier said the issue is about more than just the Asian Carp. He added that Illinois has duty to the rest of the Great Lakes community to protect the lakes. "Illinois reaps a special benefit by being able to divert water from the Great Lakes, and with that comes a very special responsibility to ensure no harm to the Great Lakes as a whole."

Brammeier's group authored a study in 2008 that recommended what Michigan is advocating. The study from the Alliance for the Great Lakes proposed a number of options to keep Asian Carp out of the lakes by severing the connections between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
Brammeier said the will is there to protect Lake Michigan, but admitted it will take dramatic action.

"One option is to take the Chicago River itself and break it off from the rest of the system. Allow it to flow back into Lake Michigan the way it did prior to the river being reversed," said Brammeier.

The biggest hurdle will be cost. Brammeier said he does not have a price tag. But estimates put the cost of building new permanent barriers or closing canals and rivers in the tens of millions of dollars.

Some of that money would likely come from Washington. But Brammeier said Illinois may have to pay for any changes on its own.

"If the court found that it was a special responsibility of the state of Illinois to provide agreed-upon, permanent protection for the Great Lakes, they would have to find a way to finance that."

Brammeier said he doesn't want to "speculate" where the state would find that money.
Michigan's case is scheduled to go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illi ... 86f2b.html

New York Wants Illinois to Close Canals to Stop Carp

New York's joining in the legal battle to keep Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan.

Today, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says he'll file a brief in U.S. Supreme Court that supports Michigan's legal fight.

Last month, Michigan's Attorney General reopened a 1966 case that says the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal exposes the Great Lakes to unnecessary harm.

New York's just the latest state to back Michigan. Ohio, Minnesota, Indiana and Wisconsin also support the request to close the canal that connects Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River water basin.

Illinois' Attorney General is reviewing the suit. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has said closing the canal wouldn't stop invasive carp from migrating.

Officials have already installed electronic barriers to block the carp from making their way into Lake Michigan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/scien ... tates.html

Court won't close locks to keep out destructive carp

January 19, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to order the closure of shipping locks near Chicago to prevent invasive Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes.

The high court refused to issue a preliminary injunction that would have immediately cut off a link between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes basin. Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New York want a permanent block between the rivers and the lakes to keep out the fish, which have been migrating up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers toward the Great Lakes for decades. The fish have swarmed waterways near Chicago leading to Lake Michigan.

Illinois and the Obama administration oppose the closure of the locks, saying federal agencies are working to keep Asian carp out of the lakes.

Scientists fear that if Asian carp reach the lakes, they could disrupt the food chain and endanger the $7 billion fishery.

The biggest Asian carp can reach 4 feet in length and weigh 100 pounds while consuming up to 40 percent of their body weight daily in plankton, the base of the food chain for Great Lakes fish.

In addition to immediate closure of the shipping locks, the states also wanted a permanent separation between the carp-infested waters and the lakes. That would mean cutting off a link between the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins created more than 100 years ago, when Chicago reversed the flow of the Chicago River and began sending sewage-fouled Lake Michigan water south toward the Mississippi River.

Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago operate canals and other waterways that open into Lake Michigan.

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1998959,c ... 19.article

DNA from Asian carp has been detected in Lake Michigan for the first time -- but it's still not certain whether the fish themselves have entered the lake, a federal official said Tuesday.

Major Gen. John Peabody of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that two pathways for the carp to reach Lake Michigan are the Grand Calumet River and the Little Calumet River, which might be sampled next.

"We have not sampled in that area, but we will take a look at that," Peabody said. "Both of those waterways are possible vectors for the migration or the travel of Asian carp or other species between the lake and the Chicago-area waterway system."

Peabody said federal officials will confer with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on where water samples should be collected next. A plan should be ready in a month or two.

One sample of genetic material from the invasive carp was found Dec. 8 in Calumet Harbor, which is part of Lake Michigan. Federal officials insisted that does not mean carp have actually reached the lake.

"Our current eDNA process provides indications of likely presence, but it does not yet provide information about Asian carp quantity that may be present, age, size, how they got there or how long they may have been there," said David Lodge, director of the eDNA project at the University of Notre Dame.

Peabody said no live or dead fish have been spotted in Lake Michigan but that agencies will use netting and other tactics to search for stronger evidence.

The university processes 40 samples a week and has a backlog of 440 samples from the region, he said.

But the Army Corps still doesn't intend to close the locks and gates that form the final barrier between waterways near Chicago and the lake, he said.

The Supreme Court had refused earlier Tuesday to order the immediate closure of two shipping locks -- Navy Pier and O'Brien south of downtown Chicago -- to prevent Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes.

Scientists fear if carp reach the Great Lakes, they could disrupt the food chain and endanger the $7 billion fishery.

Asian carp can grow 4 feet long and weigh 100 pounds while consuming up to 40 percent of their body weight daily in plankton -- the foundation of the Great Lakes food web. Scientists have said the carp, which have no predators, could starve out sport fish, such as trout and salmon.

The carp are spooked by passing motors and often hurtle from the water, colliding with boaters forcefully enough to break bones.

The court rejected Michigan's request to shut the locks and gates temporarily while officials and interest groups debate a long-term strategy. Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin filed briefs supporting Michigan.

The Obama administration opposes closing the locks, saying such action could cause flooding in Chicago and would disrupt the transportation of coal and other commodities on waterways linking Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River system.

Asian carp have been migrating up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers for decades. Federal officials said they weren't sure how the carp may have come so close to Lake Michigan.

Biologists have speculated that carp might have slipped through the electric barriers when the Army Corps turned off power to them for about a week in October 2008 to do maintenance. Another theory is that the barriers may not have been strong enough, or turned up enough, to fend off younger fish.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

$13 M in Great Lakes' Funds to Control Asian Carp Migration

Dec 21, 2009

Great Lakes Inter-agency Task Force Chair and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on Dec. 14 announced $13 million in federal funding to prevent Asian carp from migrating further toward the Great Lakes.

“The challenge at hand requires the immediate action we're taking today. EPA and its partners are stepping up to prevent the environmental and economic destruction that can come from invasive Asian carp,” said Jackson. “President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and Congressional support have given us what we need to significantly and immediately reduce the risk of Asian carp reaching the Great Lakes and destroying such a valuable ecosystem.”

President Barack Obama has made restoring the Great Lakes a national priority. In February 2009, he proposed $475 million for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, an unprecedented investment in the nation’s largest fresh surface water ecosystem. Congress approved that funding level and President Obama signed it into law in October. The funding for immediate carp control measures would come from the $475 million initiative.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified more than $13 million in funding needs for measures to deter Asian carp from moving closer to Lake Michigan. The majority of funding will be used to close conduits and shore up low-lying lands between the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal and adjacent waterways. Agencies remain concerned that during times of heavy precipitation water – and therefore carp – can wash from adjacent waterways into the canal. Initiative funding will support work by the Corps to reduce the risk of invasion from these collateral access points. Some of the funding will support more genetic testing to pinpoint where carp may be in the Chicago Area Waterway System. The agencies will continue to identify other mechanisms for keeping Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

This announcement follows on the heels of a November 23 announcement that a portion of initiative funding will be available for interested stakeholders through a request for proposals (RFP). Invasive species controls are a priority under the initiative. EPA, through the Great Lakes National Program Office is seeking applications from a diverse group of participants and partnerships to support the goals of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The RFP is online at http://epa.gov/greatlakes/fund/2010rfp01.

The Task Force, chaired and coordinated by EPA, was created in May of 2004 under a presidential executive order and is responsible for implementing federal efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes.


http://www.eponline.com/Articles/2009/1 ... ation.aspx

Sportsmen worry about Asian carp

OUTDOOR SPORTS SHOW LURES LOCALS TO HAMMOND

Asian carp could devastate Indiana's multimillion-dollar sport fishing industry if they take hold in Lake Michigan, fishermen said Saturday during the 26th annual Hammond Outdoor Sports Show.
Asian carp could devastate Indiana's multimillion-dollar sport fishing industry if they take hold in Lake Michigan, fishermen said Saturday during the 26th annual Hammond Outdoor Sports Show.

"They are a horrible nuisance," said Mike Hulbert, 31, of Fort Wayne. "Obviously, we need to do whatever we can to get rid of them and stop them from reproducing."
Hulbert said he saw 10- to 15-pound Asian carp jumping out of a river in northern Illinois during a fishing trip two years ago.

"You can get hit by them," said Hulbert, a fishing guide who frequents Webster Lake in northern Indiana. "They can knock you out of the boat."

Asian carp pose a threat to the Great Lakes because some can consume up to 40 percent of their body weight in plankton each day and grow to more than 4 feet long, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The voracious eaters, threatening to cross man-made barriers in Illinois waterways leading to Lake Michigan, can starve out other fish species.

Last week Maj. Gen. John Peabody, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said DNA from Asian carp had been detected in Lake Michigan's Calumet Harbor, but it was not certain the fish had made it into the lake. He said the Army Corps did not intend to close locks leading to the lake.
Mike Echterling, conservation chairman of the Lake County Fish and Game Protective Association, said it is unknown if and how the invasive species would affect the Great Lakes.
"There's a lot of people who are really worried about it," Echterling said. "And then there are people who think Lake Michigan is not a good environment for the Asian carp."

He said there are mixed opinions on the DNA testing scientists are using to track the carp.
"Some say when they get a positive result that means the fish are there," he said. "Some say when you get a positive result the fish aren't there, the current brought the sediment, because they test the sediment at the bottom of the river."

Guy Wendorf, a conservation officer for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said the agency is working on protecting the regional waters from Asian carp. He said state fishermen are worried about the fish.

"The local sport fishing community is very aware of what an invasive species can do to the ecology of a resource like Lake Michigan," Wendorf said.
Robin Burgess, 40, of Cedar Lake, fishes with her husband, Chuck. She said she does not want the Asian carp to wipe out the fish she likes to eat, including bass and bluegills.
"If I go fishing, I better be catching something," she said with a smile.

Organizers of the sports show expect thousands of visitors during the two-day event. The show offers hunting and fishing retailers, free seminars, food vendors and other attractions in a gymnasium lined with a forest of fishing poles and other sports gear.
But long after the event is over, the Asian carp threat will remain.
"If they get into the lake, if they thrive, they could wipe everything out," Echterling said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

VISIT TODAY: The 26th Annual Hammond Outdoor Sports Show runs through today. Visitors can stop by The Jean Shepherd Community Center at 3031 J.F. Mahoney Dr. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to attend free seminars and see featured hunting and fishing retailers, charter services, carving demonstrations and other vendors. Admission is $5 for adults, and children 12 and under are free.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake ... 40d57.html

Visclosky: Stop carp, don't hinder commerce

REP. SAYS OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING INVASIVE SPECIES FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS

By Sarah Tompkins - sarah.tompkins@nwi.com, (219) 836-3780 | Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010 12:05 am
U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky said legislators have been working on the Asian carp problem for at least a decade, and that plans have been made to build a third electronic barrier to help keep the invasive species out of the Great Lakes.

U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky said legislators have been working on the Asian carp problem for at least a decade, and that plans have been made to build a third electronic barrier to help keep the invasive species out of the Great Lakes.

"I just wanted to assure people there are a number of things that have been going on for a decade and continue to go on now," said the Indiana Democrat, who is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. "The publicity has drawn attention to this, but this has been a significant concern not just to myself but to legislators who are concerned about the Great Lakes and who are concerned about the economy."

Over the past 12 years, about $32 million has been appropriated for the Asian carp problem. Visclosky said Thursday the money has gone to designing, constructing and testing electric barriers. This fiscal year, more than $5 million has been set aside for the issue, and he said he has been in contact daily with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the fighting against the invasive species.

Asian carp pose a major threat to the Great Lakes because some can consume up to 40 percent of their body weight in food each day and grow to more than 4 feet long, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Two barriers are in place, with a third under construction, Visclosky said. Once the third barrier is operating, which is expected in early 2011, he said the Army Corps will reconstruct one of the original barriers.

"The goal from my perspective is you want to address the carp and environmental issue while allowing the continued economic flow as well," he said, adding that about 7 million tons of cargo moved through the Chicago and O'Brien locks in 2008.

Earlier this week, Maj. Gen. John Peabody, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said DNA from Asian carp had been detected in Lake Michigan's Calumet Harbor, but that it was not certain the fish had made it into the lake. He said the Army Corps did not intend to close the locks.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court refused to order the closure of the locks. Visclosky did not comment on the ruling, saying it was a separate process unto itself.

"Unlike the court, Asian carp don't heed jurisdictional lines," Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, said earlier this week. "If emergency measures to stem the tide of carp are the wrong play, we need a new playbook -- and we need it yesterday."

Visclosky said studies are being done on how to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, and that language in legislation from last year will allow changes to be made as findings are made in the ongoing research.

"Keeping the fish out and keeping commerce flowing through the locks will continue to have a beneficial impact on Northwest Indiana," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake ... mode=story