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Doable, affordable: Conceptual rendering of Asian carp barrier on the Calumet River. Photo/ Great Lakes Commission

This just in: We have a solution to stop Asian carp for a price that will not break the bank.

A new study, released today by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, lays out solutions to stop invasive species like the Asian carp from using man-made canals connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River from spreading throughout U.S. waters, where they inflict damage on the environment and economy.

The report offers three different scenarios to sever the man-made connection between the two iconic waters by building a barrier (or barriers). The cost: between $3 billion and $9.5 billion.

Commenting on the report, here’s what the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition’s Jeff Skelding had to say:

“The study has the potential to be a game-changer in the effort to restore and protect the Great Lakes. It proves that we have affordable solutions to the Asian carp crisis that benefit both our environment and economy. This report should put an end to excuse-making and food-dragging and light a fire under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do its job so that the nation can move forward on a solution to protect the Great Lakes and the jobs which depend on them.”

The study underscores three things:

1. We can do this. The study lays out in black and white that we have the technology to block the spread of harmful aquatic invasive species. More >

A few miles southeast of Chicago, in the shadow of an elevated toll road that links the Windy City to Indiana, crews are transforming one of America’s most polluted rivers into an oasis for wildlife.

The Grand Calumet River was abused for more than a century by cities and industries that used it as a sewer. Decades of toxic discharges blanketed the river bottom with a thick layer of poisonous mud that fouled the water, drove away every species of fish except carp and goldfish, and coated birds in oil.

A $50 million cleanup of the Grand Calumet’s west branch project aims to reverse the damage and restore life to a river and associated wetlands that once attracted scores of migratory birds.
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For Immediate Release:
January 26, 2012

Contact:
Jordan Lubetkin, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, 734-887-7109

$200,000 in grants leads to more than $1.6 million in federal funds for restoration projects in high-priority areas

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (Jan. 23, 2012) —The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition today announced that $200,000 in grants it issued in 2010 to help local conservation groups participate in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has resulted in more than $1.6 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds for restoration projects—an 8-to-1 return on investment. More >

A northern Michigan trout stream that was used for years to support a commercial fish farm is flowing freely again after a dozen small dams were removed.

The Flowing Well Trout Farm, built near Kalkaska, Michigan the mid-1900s, erected 12 small dams to create fish rearing ponds. The dams diverted the north branch of the Manistee River and the Flowing Well Creek, which caused unnaturally high water temperatures, blocked fish passage and disrupted the natural movement of sediment and woody debris in the coldwater trout streams.

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The Obama Administration will release its fiscal year 2013 budget Monday, February 13, according to reports in media including the Washington Post, National Journal, USA Today, Politico, Bloomberg News and Reuters. By law, the president is to release its budget the first Monday in February. More >