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Ask President Obama to Defend the Great Lakes Against Asian Carp
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Asian Carp
Asian carp are a significant threat to the Great Lakes because of their size, and ability to reproduce rapidly and consume large amounts of food. Asian carp can grow to 100 pounds and up to four feet. They are well-suited to the cold water climate of the Great Lakes region, which is similar to their native Eastern Hemisphere habitats. It is expected that they would compete for food with the valuable sport and commercial fish. If they entered the system, they would likely become a dominant species in the Great Lakes.
Two species of Asian Carp - the silver and the bighead carps - escaped into the Mississippi River from southern fish farms in the early 1990s when the facilities were flooded. Steadily, the carp have made their way northward, becoming the most abundant species in some areas of the Mississippi, destroying native fish populations, and causing severe hardship to the people who fish the river. The Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal connects the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes. Currently, the carp are in the canal and have been sighted approximately 40 miles from Lake Michigan. The most recent testing by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers revealed Asian Carp DNA in Lake Michigan.
Unfortunately, even with the latest test results, the Army Corps of Engineers has not taken action. As a result, the state of Michigan has taken legal action to force the federal government and the state of Illinois to do more to block the huge fish.
In early January, Michigan filed a lawsuit (supported by Wisconsin, Ohio and New York) that requested the shipping locks in Chicago be closed in an effort to keep Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes. Unfortunately, in mid-January, the U.S. Supreme Court officially denied Michigan's request for an injunction to shut the locks.
In response, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle requested a White House summit to discuss the threat of the carp. Nancy Sutley, the president of the Council on Environmental Quality, agreed to meet with the Great Lakes Governors, and a "Carp Summit" is scheduled for the first week of February.
In addition, Michigan Representative David Camp introduced a bill on the floor of the House on Wednesday addressing the threat of Asian Carp. The proposed "Carp Act" would force the closure of two locks in the Chicago shipping canal.
We need your help to convince President Obama that this issue, while now highly politicized, is about the future of the Great Lakes. Time is of the essence.
Your message will be sent to each of the following targets:
President Barack Obama
A sample message appears below, which you may edit before sending.
Please Don't Let Asian Carp Invade the Great Lakes
Dear President Obama,
First, I want to thank you for all you've done for the Great Lakes. As a state Senator, a U.S. Senator, a presidential candidate, and now as President you have brought much needed hope and progress to the Great Lakes. Your Great Lake Restoration Initiative, your $5 billion commitment to Great Lakes restoration, and the unprecedented funding levels you have already obtained for the Great Lakes are wonderful achievements and set the stage for years of additional progress in the future. You are truly a Great Lakes president.
But I fear that much, if not all, of this progress will unravel unless action is taken -- emergency measures and permanent solutions -- to protect the Great Lakes from invasive Asian Carp. Bighead and Silver Asian carp, which have infiltrated the Mississippi River, are posed to invade Lake Michigan. Their DNA has been found in Lake Michigan - past an electric fence designed to keep the non-native fish from entering the lakes.
At this point, navigation locks are the only obstacles between the fish and the Great Lakes. If the carp invade the Great Lakes they could devastate the region's $7 billion fishing industry, destroy the ecosystems of the Great Lakes, endanger recreational boaters, and permanently alter how boaters, anglers and tourists use and enjoy the lakes and their many tributaries.
President Obama, you have been a champion of the Great Lakes before, but we need your support now more than ever to protect the lakes from a potential ecological disaster.
We respectfully ask for your administration's support, and we ask that you direct the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies to reconsider their opposition to closing the locks in the Chicago shipping canal. Emergency actions need to be taken to safeguard the Great Lakes in the short term, and a plan must be developed for the permanent re-plumbing of the Chicago-area waterway system to once again separate Lake Michigan from the adjacent Mississippi River basin.
The stakes are too high and we must act immediately. We know how much you care about the Great Lakes and we know how committed you are to their protection and restoration. But allowing the invasive carp into Lake Michigan would be catastrophic for the Great Lakes.
Thank you,
Your name and address here
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