GLIN==> States and cities launch initiative to modernize the Chicago area waterway system and protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp

For immediate release: July 22, 2010

 

States and cities launch initiative to modernize the Chicago area waterway
system and protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp

http://www.glc.org/announce/10/07chicago.html 

 

 

For Information, Contact:

Tim Eder, Executive Director, Great Lakes Commission

734-971-9135 or 734-604-7281 (cell); teder at glc.org 

 

OR

David Ullrich, Executive Director, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities
Initiative

312-201-4516 or 312-480-6501 (cell); David.ullrich at glslcities.org 

 

 

For Immediate Release: July 22, 2010. Today, Great Lakes states and cities
joined together to announce an initiative that seeks to transform water
management and transportation in the Chicago region for the 21st Century,
while safeguarding the Great Lakes from economic and ecological damage
caused by Asian carp and other biological invasions from the Mississippi
River basin. 

 

The initiative will seize upon one of the greatest challenges in the region
from Asian carp as an opportunity to develop options to protect both basins
while significantly advancing water quality, flood control, transportation,
and the economy in the Chicago area. 

 

A team led by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St.
Lawrence Cities Initiative, organizations representing governors, state
officials and mayors, will convene users, stakeholders and technical experts
to identify the best economic and environmental solutions for separating the
Mississippi River basin from the Great Lakes in the Chicago Area Waterway
System (CAWS), the connection between the two watersheds created in 1900.

 

Titled Envisioning a Chicago Area Waterway System for the 21st Century, the
18-month initiative will assess modernization and improvements to the
Waterway System in a way that enhances commercial, recreational and
environmental benefits, while preventing the transfer of damaging invasive
species. The collaborative received initial funding from two Chicago-based
funders: the Joyce Foundation and the Great Lakes Protection Fund. Other
funders across the Great Lakes region are being approached to contribute to
this $2 million project.

 

Through the project’s intensive stakeholder outreach process, all key
interests—shippers, water managers, government agencies, citizen groups,
recreational and commercial boaters, tribes, and others—will be engaged by
the team leaders to explore and evaluate options for separating the Great
Lakes and Mississippi River basins. The natural barriers between these two
watersheds were artificially removed during the last century. The recent
confirmation of Asian carp on the Lake Michigan side of the dispersal
barrier increases the importance of designing permanent, long-term
solutions.

 

“This study is a critical step in finding the best solution to the problem
of invasive species moving through the Chicago Area Waterway System between
the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds,” said Chicago Mayor
Richard M. Daley, founding U.S. Chairman of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
Cities Initiative. “At the same time, it can help identify ways to improve
transportation, water quality, and water management for the residents of the
City of Chicago and the entire region.”

 

Residents and leaders of the Great Lakes region fear that the voracious
Asian carp could decimate the lakes’ ecosystem, including the region’s $7
billion annual sport fishing industry. Despite control measures, including
electric barriers on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Asian carp have
been detected in numerous locations around Chicago. Last month a live Asian
carp was caught in Lake Calumet, above the barriers and just six miles from
Lake Michigan. Last week, the state of Illinois announced steps to reduce
the population of carp downstream from the barrier through a commercial
fishing venture.

 

“We recently announced a first-of-its-kind partnership between the state of
Illinois, Beijing Zhuochen Animal Husbandry Company and Big River Fisheries
to harvest and process 30 million pounds of Asian carp from Illinois rivers.
This agreement is a great step toward controlling the carp population while
giving Illinois’ economy a boost,” said Illinois Governor Pat Quinn,
chairman of the Great Lakes Commission. “We must continue working together
to develop innovative solutions to prevent Asian carp from reaching the
Great Lakes—one of our most precious natural resources.”

 

“The recent discovery of an Asian carp so close to Lake Michigan was a
wake-up call that we need to do more and we need to do it quickly,” said
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL).  “We also need to develop a long-term
solution to deal with this serious threat to the Great Lakes. While
separating the waterways would require a complex feat of engineering, we
need to understand the costs and benefits and whether this method offers the
best hope for a long-term solution for containing not only the carp, but
other invasive species.”

 

“The best permanent solution to protecting the Great Lakes from damaging
aquatic invasive species is to separate the two watersheds by closing the
artificial connection in the Chicago area,” said U.S. Senator Debbie
Stabenow (D-MI).

 

“I applaud this joint initiative to study a comprehensive ecological
separation plan. Shielding the Great Lakes’ ecosystem and its $7 billion
fishing industry from the threat of Asian carp will require the coordinated
efforts of state, regional, and federal authorities. The findings of this
study, similar to the one my legislation calls for, will be essential to
achieving a permanent solution. I thank the Great Lakes Commission and the
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative for doing their part,” said
U.S. Representative Dave Camp (R-MI).

 

“This project is not meant to displace the essential and urgent work of
other institutions and governmental entities,” said Michigan Governor
Jennifer M. Granholm. “Their responsibility for immediate action to prevent
the spread of the Asian carp remains. This study tackles the larger,
longer-term task of redesigning the waterways for sustainability. Both jobs
need to be done, and both need to succeed.”

 

“As Governor, I have provided state funding, resources and staff to support
ongoing work to stop the spread of Asian carp, and increased state funding
for combating aquatic invasive species,” said Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.
“But Asian carp pose a threat to the Great Lakes that reaches beyond state
borders and it is important to work together—across traditional interests,
and political boundaries—to fight their spread. The support of the Great
Lakes Protection Fund will play an important role in this effort.” 

 

“The Great Lakes fishery and entire ecosystem have been threatened by the
sea lampreys, zebra mussels, and many other invasive species over the years,
but the Asian carp present one of the greatest challenges” said Mayor George
Heartwell of Grand Rapids, immediate past chair of the Cities Initiative. “I
am pleased this work is going forward to find a solution to the invasive
species problem while significantly improving the waterway system.”

 

“We’re talking about a problem that goes beyond Asian carp,” said Tim Eder,
Great Lakes Commission executive director. “This is about protecting the
ecological and commercial vitality of the Great Lakes, and it is bigger than
any one organization can solve alone. Our work will complement that of the
Army Corps of Engineers and the many other federal and state organizations
that are committed to finding solutions to the problems facing the Great
Lakes.” 

 

“With leadership from the Great Lakes states and cities, we can provide a
unique perspective and focus attention on the most critical challenges
associated with the Chicago Area Waterway System,” said Dave Ullrich,
executive director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
“Our plan is to serve as a catalyst and supplement to the federal process to
make sure we get a long term solution as soon as possible.”

 

“The Joyce Foundation has had a long-standing commitment to protecting and
restoring the Great Lakes,” said Ellen S. Alberding, president of the
Chicago-based foundation. “We look forward to continuing our work with
environmental groups, businesses, and policy makers to craft a new vision
for Chicago's waterways that will allow our region to thrive in the years
ahead.”

 

 

 

###

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by Gov. Patrick Quinn (Ill.), is an
interstate compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and
dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high
quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents.
The Commission consists of governors' appointees, state legislators, and
agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for
Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a "Declaration of
Partnership." The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving
U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies
and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is a U.S. and Canadian
coalition of over 70 mayors and other local officials representing over 13
million people that works actively with federal, state, tribal, first nation
and provincial governments  and other stakeholders to advance the
restoration and promotion  of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River basin.
For more information on the Cities Initiative, visit www.glslcities.org.

Based in Chicago, the Joyce Foundation supports efforts to protect the Great
Lakes, to reduce poverty and violence in the region, and to ensure its
residents good schools, decent jobs, a strong democracy, and a diverse and
thriving culture. Learn more at  <http://www.joycefdn.org> www.joycefdn.org.

The Great Lakes Protection Fund is a publicly capitalized, private
corporation created in 1989 by the Governors of the states surrounding the
Great Lakes. The Fund invests a one-time contribution of public funds and
uses the investment income for two purposes: to test new regional actions
that improve the health of the Great Lakes, and to provide resources for
states to support their individual Great Lakes priorities. Since inception,
the fund has supported 230 regional projects, awarding more than $57 million
to regional project teams. The Fund welcomes innovative ideas on how to
improve the health of the Great Lakes at any time. Funding guidelines can be
found at www.glpf.org.

 

 

Tim Eder, Executive Director

Great Lakes Commission

734-971-9135, ext. 101

teder at glc.org

http://www.glc.org/

http://www.great-lakes.net/

 

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