GLIN==> Federal Asian Carp Plan Needs to Be Strengthened to Protect Great Lakes, Say Conservation Groups

Alliance for the Great Lakes – Great Lakes United – Healing Our
Waters-Great Lakes Coalition – National Wildlife Federation – Natural
Resources Defense Council
 
Federal Asian Carp Plan Needs to Be Strengthened to Protect Great
Lakes, Say Conservation Groups
 
Strategy Needs to Move Aggressively toward Permanent, Long-term
Solution of Physically Separating Mississippi River and Great Lakes
basin
 
CHICAGO (February 12)—Conservation groups today urged the Obama
Administration to strengthen a federal plan to protect the Great Lakes
from the advancing Asian carp and move toward a permanent solution of
physically separating the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes basin. 
 
“Perpetual reliance on temporary measures will not solve this problem,”
said Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of the Alliance for the Great
Lakes. “It’s time to invest in a solution that will get the job done
once and for all. The administration and Congress need to commit to
physical separation of the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.”
 
On the day that the U.S. EPA was to hold a public meeting in Chicago on
the federal government’s response to the relentless advance of the Asian
carp, conservation groups asserted that the positive aspects of the plan
were undermined by a lack of a clear focus on a long-term solution. 
 
“The Obama Administration’s plan is a step forward in that it
identifies many of the tools and the resources that urgently need to be
deployed to stop Asian carp now moving into Lake Michigan,” said Thom
Cmar, attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We are
concerned, however, that the strategy does not include a clear long-term
vision that will actually work to prevent Asian carp from invading the
Great Lakes.”
 
Conservation groups urged the Obama Administration to accelerate and
clarify short-term actions to prevent the Asian carp from establishing a
breeding population in the Great Lakes, while fully committing to the
long-term solution of physically separating the Mississippi River and
the Great Lakes basin.
 
“The government’s plan is like a list of ingredients without a recipe,”
said Andy Buchsbaum, regional executive director of the National
Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center. “Unless you combine
the ingredients in the right proportions and in the right sequence,
you’ll have a disastrous meal. We cannot afford that. We need a clear
strategy that prevents Asian carp from wreaking havoc on the Great Lakes
and regional economy and buys us enough time until we can permanently
separate two of America’s great waters.”
 
The recent discovery of DNA indicating that Asian carp had likely
reached Lake Michigan underscored the need for more aggressive action by
the federal government.
 
“Asian carp are perfect invaders, programmed to eat and breed. If Asian
carp establish populations in the Great Lakes or their tributaries, they
will cause irreversible harm to an ecosystem that we are working so hard
to restore,” said Jennifer Nalbone, director, Navigation and Invasive
Species, Great Lakes United. “It’s time to pull out all of the stops to
confront this threat.”
 
The non-native Asian carp—voracious eaters that gobble up food other
fish depend on—pose a direct threat to the $7 billion Great Lakes sport
fishery. Asian carp also threaten the national effort to restore the
Great Lakes. The Brookings Institution found that restoring the Great
Lakes would bring the region $2 for every $1 invested in restoration
activities. 
 
“Our nation can meet this challenge if we take aggressive action now
and keep moving toward a permanent long-term solution,” said Jeff
Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes
Coalition. “Confronting this threat has got to be a top priority,
because we will not have another chance to get it right.”
 
For Immediate Release:
February 12, 2009
 
Contact:
Joel Brammeier, Alliance for the Great Lakes, 773-293-4428 
Jennifer Nalbone, Great Lakes United, 716-213-0408
Chad Lord, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, 202-454-3385
Andy Buchsbaum, National Wildlife Federation, 734-717-3665
Thom Cmar, NRDC, 312-651-7906 (work), 312-371-9193 (cell)
Jordan Lubetkin, National Wildlife Federation, 734-887-7109
 
 
Jordan Lubetkin - Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation
Great Lakes Regional Center
213 W. Liberty St., Suite 200
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1398
www.nwf.org/greatlakes 
www.healthylakes.org ( http://www.healthylakes.org/ )

Phone: (734) 887-7109 
Cell: (734) 904-1589

Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
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