“We knew this day would come,” Great Lakes Czar Cam Davis told the Chicago Tribune in reference to the threatened great Asian Carp invasion of 2010. Davis promises that as early as today there could be a decision made about closing the O’Brian Lock – the door to Lake Michigan.
The O’Brian Lock has been closed since Friday for the fish kill. After the kill a nearly two-foot bighead carp was found 500 feet from the Lockport Lock and Dam. Some news reports are pointing out that just one fish was found, but biologists have said it may take days for the carp to deteriorate enough to make it to the surface.
The Governor of Michigan and her Attorney General Michael Cox are in the process of filing a suit in federal court and possibly in the US Supreme Court to force the government to close the locks.
Illinois officials are in negotiation with Davis and the federal government right now to come up with a decision on the locks. The American Waterways Operators “AWO” are publically opposing any attempt to close the locks. They use the locks to transport heating oil, coal, salt and other products to the greater Chicago area. They didn’t even want the locks closed temporarily for the maintenance of the electric barrier. But then that isn’t surprising because they have continually urged the Army Corps and Coast Guard not to use the electronic barrier’s full force. Their insistence on this matter could be why the carp have successfully broached the barrier and why we have had to spend millions to poison our waterways. The AWO refers to the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal as “congressionally-authorized waterways.” Which begs the question, where are the voices of the Great Lakes Congressional Delegation and the Great Lakes Task Force? Why aren’t they calling for the locks to be closed for good?
We have known about the carp threat to the lakes for ages and we have begged the government to fully power up the electronic barrier. Then last year, the Alliance for the Great Lakes published a report recommending a permanent separation of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi basins. But it appears that industry continues to come first when it comes to the Great Lakes – even when we are talking about the decimation of a $7 billion sport fishing and recreation industry if the carp take hold in Lake Michigan. How much money do the barge operators on the locks bring into the region?
If our congressional team continues in their silence, they might avoid eating crow but they sure won’t be able to stop from eating carp.
Related posts:
- Some Great Lakes Congressmen Call for Locks to Close & Permanent Separation of Basins; Others May Follow
- Battle Cry: Close the Locks or Face Michigan in Court
- Long-Range Thinking Could Save Chicago From Asian Carp Catastrophe
- The Life and Times of Cameron Davis: All GLRI All The Time
- News Reports Accuse MidWest of Hysterical React to Asian Carp