LANSING – Asian carp could be on the doorstep to Lake Michigan, federal officials reported Wednesday, threatening the multi-billion dollar Michigan fishing industry.
Michigan officials were still calculating their next steps after the announcement that a live bighead carp, one of the two species of Asian carp currently in the Mississippi River basin, was found in Lake Calumet. The lake is beyond the electronic barriers meant to keep the fish from entering the Great Lakes and is not separated from Lake Michigan by any locks or dams.
“Today’s news means that our worst fears maybe coming true,” said Liz Boyd, press secretary for Gov. Jennifer Granholm. “At the White House Carp Summit, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm stressed that aggressive steps must be implemented to keep carp out of the Great Lakes until a permanent sustainable solution to physically separate the Mississippi River watershed from the Great Lakes basin can be constructed. We renew that call for action.”
Attorney General Mike Cox, who has been leading legal efforts to force federal action to keep the carp out of the Great Lakes, said he is exploring what new actions might be possible given the latest finding.
“Our worst fears were realized with the discovery of Asian carp near the Great Lakes,” Cox said. “Responsibility for this potential economic and ecological disaster rests solely with President Obama. He must take action immediately by ordering the locks closed and producing an emergency plan to stop Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan.”
Federal officials reportedly said Wednesday they were not planning to close the locks connecting the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal to Lake Michigan as a result of the finding.
The state’s congressional delegation also pushed for action.
“This evidence should be a wake-up call that this is an urgent situation for the Great Lakes,” said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing). “I strongly urge the Army Corps to close the locks now while they continue to determine the best way to permanently separate the Chicago Area Waterway System from the Great Lakes.”
U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Holland), also a candidate for governor, called on the Obama administration to take immediate action to keep the giant fish out of the Great Lakes.
“Closing the locks is not enough, and the Army Corps has acknowledged that they have no intention to do so,” Hoekstra said. “Time has been wasted with lawsuits and crossing fingers hoping that the carp will stay out of the lakes. Action has never been more necessary, and I hope that the administration recognizes the urgency with which this problem needs to be addressed and provide every tool to end this threat.”
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