Thank you for visiting StopAsianCarp.com. Like you, our goal is to ensure that the Great Lakes are protected from Asian carp. If these hyper-aggressive invasive species enter the Great Lakes, thousands of jobs, the lakes’ unique ecology and our way of life here in Michigan and other Great Lakes states will all be at risk.

In December 2009, DNA testing found evidence that Asian carp were within a few miles of Lake Michigan, yet the locks which provide the carp with a direct path into Lake Michigan remain open. As a result, on behalf of the citizens of Michigan I sued the State of Illinois and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to force the immediate closure of these locks. Almost immediately, other Great Lakes states supported us in court, including New York, Wisconsin, Ohio and Minnesota. The Province of Ontario joined us as well. However, the Obama administration and the State of Illinois are opposing our suit and refuse to close the locks.

You can help us convince federal and local authorities to close the locks and protect the jobs and ecology that depend on the health of the Great Lakes by signing this e-petition. We will present the petition to President Obama and hope that he changes his position.



http://stopasiancarp.com/

Big suprise, obama is a friggin moron.

Remind me again of your credentials on these issues? Or are you just another blowhard who thinks it's somehow either cool or constructive to make a post like that?

I for one understand NONE of the issues on the carp/locks issue--and I'm willing to wager you knew nothing before 38 minutes ago either.

But I find it continually astounding how republicans are now willing to take anti-business positions (like this situation), anti-balanced budget (recent vote), and anti-free speech (see palin/retard comments) positions if it's a way to go after the president. The newest way to apparently be a GOP tough-guy is to over-exaggerate your fears of everything.

Me? I think you're all un-American.

I don't really mean that, but it demonstrates a similar level of thought as your comment, so deal with it.

Good post, Irish.
Sayin' it like it is.

The carp issue has been building for years. Fish farms (don't you love 'em) in the SE brought in the carp for production and algae control. Floods allowed some to escape into the Mississippi River drainage and they've been moving throughout the basin ever since. If they get into the Great Lake, and there are some indications that they might already be there, they'll expand to fill available habitat to the detriment of the native fish (lake trout, whitefish/cisco, yellow perch, walleye, etc) and the other exotics that currently exist in the lakes (alewives, lamprey, Chinook, coho, steelhead, zebra mussels, quagga mussels, etc).

Keeping the last lock closed would be good for lakes environment. There's too much money to be lost/made by the barge companies that haul the grain, coal, ore, etc. I'd be really surprised, but extremely happy, if the Feds make the call to protect the environment a first priority.

Anti free speech eh? How about the fire storm "IF" the chief of staff had used the word "faggot" instead of "retard".

Jerry... I should've said "Pro-Politically Correctness" -- which as you know is another bugaboo the right wing has with people who went to college.

Certainly we can agree that some words transit from acceptable to unacceptable during their lifetime. You might even feel that way about the word "retard" now.

But I'd wager that not a single one of us has lived a life free of such utterances. Especially in private, closed door meetings (vs. public speaking). Its a red herring -- the serious issues we have: budget, wars, etc get lost in a sea of this crap.

Or should I have said "dung"? I of course don't want to scald your recently-sensitized-ears.

I think that Palin should have called out Rush also, but I'mm also saying that the right isn't the sole domain of anti free speech.`

Ha,Ha.

:vThank God not all of us take to spoon feeding.

From Carp to Palin to Political Correctness..........

methinks the Lefties are restless.

The carp are coming and is that really a bad thing?

When it comes to exotic species you need to learn to love them. Sounds bad doesn't it. Enviromentalist often say exotic species indicate, by definition, a degraded or unhealthy ecosystem. Not necessarily true. There's little evidence that natives are more valuable than recently arrived species. In fact, it's hard to distinguish natives from non natives. Ring neck pheasants anyone? Brown trout anyone? There are plenty more but they all were once considered exotic species.

I'm not the almighty defender of carp but they are the most cultivated fish in the world. They have been introduced into 88 countries, primarily as food, but also to clean up algae without chemicals. So, if you make the argument that carp will create an unhealthy ecosystem you are only referring to an ecosystem the way you want it to be.

Learn to love them, learn to love them......and, practice your bow fishing skills!!!

...and wear protective gear when motoring through shallow waters...they like to jump

Maybe a commercial fishery could be developed and these fish could be used to produce fish meal instead of over harvesting species like Menhaden that are being over-harvested and are forage fish for many saltwater fish like Blue Fish and Stripers?

That would make sense, management could not handle it.

You whiffed on this one.

These carp are bad news for the GL basin, its fisheries, its boating and recreation and the economies that are sustained by them. There is uniform agreement on this issue by many groups who are active in GL conservation, fisheries and business.

You should have a clue before you hedge a guess on the issue,

fb

Let's start a conservation organization that loves grass carp, start a new tackle industry just aimed at grass carp, and a whole slew of guides that specialize in grass carp, then lobby the local Fish and Wildlife Department to "protect" grass carp to protect all those industries...once the DFW gets in on the "protection", I figure the grass carp will be totally eradicated in six to eight years.

I think it was Gary Chatham that wrote: "You know why there are so many whitefish in the Yellowstone River? The government hasn't seen fit to protect them yet!"...

ha ha...ha...haaa...hmmmm.

Fish on...

Todd

Classic post Todd. I am in awe of your wisdom.

February 09, 2010

Obama Pledges $78.5 Million To Fight Invasive Carp, But Won't Close Chicago Locks

From FoxNews.com
Navigational locks and gates in Chicago-area waterways crucial for shipping may be opened less frequently than usual under a $78.5 million campaign to prevent Asian carp from overrunning the Great Lakes, federal officials said Monday.

The plan falls short of closing the navigational structures entirely, as demanded by Michigan and five other Great Lakes states. They fear the locks will provide an opening to the lakes for the giant carp, which some scientists say could devastate the region's $7 billion fishing industry.

But the Obama administration described the plan as part of an effective strategy for keeping the invasive fish at bay while long-term biological controls are developed. The government said it would take 25 actions to slow the advance of the carp, which can reach 4 feet long and 100 pounds.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/fish...e-chicago-locks

Before you say I whiffed or should get a clue on this one you should read "Invasion Biology" by Mark Davis.

Am I an advocate for the spread of Asian Carp....heck no. Here's my take on it. The first thing is the Asian carp should not have been imported. The second thing is our next best chance at stopping the spread through the Great Lakes basin is to close off the canal before they can travel from the Mississippi drainage into the Great Lakes.

The question is will we do it.