Stopping Asian CarpAnd dozens of other invasive species threatening the Great Lakes and Mississippi River

HEALTHY WATER

SOLUTIONS COALITION

healthywatersolutions.org to learn more.

Alliance for the

Great Lakes

National Wildlife

Federation

Ohio Environmental

Council

Save The River

Trout Unlimited

Natural Resources Defense Council

Prairie Rivers Network

Sierra Club Illinois

Chapter

USFWS

USFWS

Local stakeholders and officials have publicly called for such a study, which will also identify resulting water quality and flooding benefits from addressing AIS.15 We now need Congress to fund the CAWS hydrology study so that a permanent, two-way solution comprised of AIS control points can be designed and implemented in the CAWS without delay.

BEST LONG-TERM PREVENTION OPTIONS ARE STRUCTURAL

Current management schemes, including monitoring and harvesting of Asian carp, are essential and have significantly reduced the risk of Asian carp challenging the electrical barrier. However, management and monitoring alone are not sufficient to prevent the two-way movement of AIS, nor would they permanently reduce the risk of migration into

Lake Michigan. According to the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), only structural solutions can provide a high level of protection against the full range of AIS threatening the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.16

We support studying structural solutions such as an Aquatic Invasive Species Treatment Lock concept, which could protect the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins while allowing the movement of vessels between them. The effectiveness of a Treatment Lock should be compared to the effectiveness of physically separating the basins.

and economies of Great Lakes and Mississippi River communities. Immediate action must be taken to prevent the further spread of AIS before they become established in our national freshwater treasures.

THE ASIAN CARP THREAT The term “Asian carp” encompasses four species: bighead, silver, black, and grass carp. Bighead and silver carp are of particular concern because if they find their way into the Great Lakes, they could devastate natural ecosystems and the communities and economies that rely on them. Asian carp are voracious filter feeders, eating up to 40% of their body weight in a day.1 This aggressive feeding can radically alter ecosystems and reduce food sources for native fish.

A quatic invasive species (AIS), like Asian carp, pose a dire threat to the ecological health

Invasion by Asian carp would have severe consequences to water-related recreational economies. For instance, silver carp are a direct physical threat to humans. The fish jump out of the water when startled, often colliding with boaters, and can cause serious injuries or property damage.

Once established, Asian carp are nearly impossible to eradicate and pose a direct threat to safety, property, and the environment.2

FOOTNOTES

1. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), “Asian Carp,” https://www.fws.gov/columbiariver/ans/factsheets/asian_carp.pdf

2. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, “Binational Ecological Risk Assessment of Bigheaded Carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) for the Great Lakes Basin,” Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Science Advisory Report, www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2011/2011_071-eng.html. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, “Ecological Risk Assessment of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) for the Great Lakes Basin,” Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Science Advisory Report, http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2016/2016_057-eng.html.

3. USFWS, “Asian Carp,” www.fws.gov/columbiariver/ans/factsheets/asian_carp.pdf.

4. Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC), “Asian Carp Response in the Midwest: Asian Carp eggs and larvae identified in the Upper Illinois Waterway during 2015,” www.asiancarp.us/news/CarpEggs.htm.

5. ACRCC, “Asian Carp Response in the Midwest: Small Asian Carp Found in Marseilles Pool of Illinois River,” www.asiancarp.us/news/Map103015.htm.

6. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, “Binational Ecological Risk Assessment of Bigheaded Carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) for the Great Lakes Basin,” Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Science Advisory Report, www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2011/2011_071-eng.html. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, “Ecological Risk Assessment of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) for the Great Lakes Basin,” Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Science Advisory Report, http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2016/2016_057-eng.html.

7. American Sportfishing Association, Sportfishing in America,” asafishing.org/wp-content/uploads/Sportfishing_in_America_

January_2013.pdf.

8. Great Lakes Commission, “Great Lakes recreational boating’s economic punch,” http://glc.org/files/docs/2007-rec-boating-economic-punch.pdf.

9. USFWS, “Asian Carp – Aquatic Invasive Species: Issues, Program Accomplishments, and Program Needs,” www.fws.gov/midwest/fisheries/library/fact-asiancarp.pdf.

10. U.S. Department of the Interior, USFWS, “Testimony of Charles Wooley, Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment,” www.doi.gov/ocl/great-lakes-collaboration.

11. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “The GLMRIS Report: Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study,” glmris.anl.gov/documents/docs/glmrisreport/GLMRIS_Report.pdf.

12. ACRCC, “USFWS Shares Results of Studies on Small Fish Movement and Barge Traffic,” www.asiancarp.us/news/BargeTraffic.htm.

13. ACRCC, “2016 Preliminary Barge Results,” http://www.asiancarp.us/news/bargeresults.htm.14. Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), “Brandon Road,” http://glmris.anl.gov/brandon-rd/.

15. Chicago Area Waterway System Advisory Committee, “Committee Letter to President Obama Regarding Long-Term Recommendations,” georgianbayforever.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CAWS-Advisory-Committee-letter-RE-Long-Term-Recommendations-Jan-2016-2-3.pdf.

16. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “The GLMRIS Report: Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study,” glmris.anl.gov/documents/docs/glmrisreport/GLMRIS_Report.pdf.

Asian carp jumping out of the Illinois River near Havana, Illinois.Asian carp have reached the Dresden Island pool in the Des Plaines River, approximately 47 river miles from Lake Michigan.

Jason Lindsey

QUICKLY MOVING TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES

Introduced into the southern U.S. to clean algae from aquaculture ponds, bighead and silver carp have migrated north through the Mississippi River basin and are now on the threshold of the Great Lakes.3

Adult Asian carp populations are now less than 50 miles from Lake Michigan.4

In 2015, the leading edge of the young Asian carp population moved 66 miles closer to Lake Michigan, a significant leap toward the lakes.5 (See map.)

Asian carp could colonize all of the Great Lakes and sustain high-density populations.6 They could also wreak havoc in the rivers and streams that feed the lakes.

AN ECONOMIC THREATAsian carp in the Great Lakes would

jeopardize:● $7 billion/year fishing industry7 ● $16 billion/year and more than

100,000 jobs in the recreational boating industry8

● Waterfowl production areas that support a hunting economy of $2.6 billion/year9

● Hunting, fishing, and wildlife observation that generates approximately $18 billion/year10

A TWO-WAY THREATThe fish are threatening to enter the

lakes through the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), a series of rivers and man-made canals in the Greater Chicago area connecting the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes.

This artificial connection means that AIS are able to move in both directions between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes, creating a two-way threat. In fact, ten of the 13 species identified by the Army Corps as posing the greatest ecological and economic threat are poised to move from the Great Lakes into the Mississippi basin. These species include bloody red shrimp and a species of diatom (a form of phytoplankton). Thus, a solution that prevents the two-way movement of AIS is needed.11

SOLUTIONSAny solution must prevent two-way

movement of aquatic invasive species (AIS) between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River via the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) in order to protect the economies and ecosystems of both regions. Some efforts are already under way but more effective and aggressive measures are needed.

INADEQUATE ELECTRIC BARRIERThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

operates three electric barriers in the CAWS aimed at preventing the movement of Asian carp. However, the electric barrier cannot be relied upon as a long-term solution, as multiple studies show that:

-small fish can swim through the barrier and,12

-barges can entrap fish and pull them through the barrier.13

Nor does the barrier address other, smaller species moving from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River Basin.

BRANDON ROAD LOCK & DAMThe Army Corps is currently studying

controls that could be placed at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Illinois, a natural chokepoint for AIS moving upriver toward the Great Lakes.14

AIS controls at Brandon Road could serve as an important interim measure to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

We support full funding in FY18 to complete the Brandon Road Feasibility Study and swift authorization and funding to implement controls at Brandon Road that will provide additional protection against Asian carp getting into the Great Lakes.

However, controls at Brandon Road can only stop the upstream movement of certain species toward the Great Lakes. Brandon Road can never prevent the two-way movement of all species, and so will not protect against dozens of AIS threatening the Mississippi River basin. A permanent, effective two-way solution is still needed.

HYDROLOGY STUDYPortions of the CAWS were built

more than 100 years ago and serve as the foundation of Chicago’s water and sewer infrastructure. Aggressively moving to prevent AIS from invading the two basins will require us to consider the complex hydrology of the Chicago region, which will in turn provide an immense opportunity to improve water quality and address chronic flooding. Accordingly, further modeling and study of the CAWS hydrology is necessary in order to design and construct control points that would prevent the two-way movement of AIS. Illinois DNR