By Nate Drag, New York Outreach Coordinator, Alliance for the Great Lakes:
Next Thursday, February 13th, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Downtown Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203), the residents of Buffalo and Western New York will have a chance to voice their opinions on a crucial issue – the potential invasion of nonnative species like Asian carp into the Great Lakes – to the one of the federal agencies charged with creating a plan to prevent this invasion – the United States Army Corps of Engineers. How many times have you said to yourself, “If they would only ask me, I would tell them what to do”? Well, now, here is your chance.
Specifically, the Army Corps is seeking public comment on a report they released in January titled the “Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study”. This report is a detailed examination of many invasive species (not just Asian carp) that could move in between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins and how this movement could be delayed or prevented completely. While the Mississippi and its connections to the Great Lakes may seem like a world away from Lake Erie and Buffalo, if invasive species like bighead and silver carp are allowed to move into and flourish in the Great Lakes, there could be irreversible economic and ecological damage done. Especially in Lake Erie, which is the most biologically productive of the Great Lakes, having nonnative fish that can weigh up to 100 lbs and consume 20-40% of the daily weight in plankton in the food chain could negatively impact native species like walleye and yellow perch. In Lake Erie, these two species alone represent a fishery worth tens of millions of dollars annually.
That being said, the main geographic focus of this study is the Chicago Area Waterway System, the manmade waterways that connect Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. These connections, originally created to reverse the flow of the Chicago River so untreated sewage would no longer flow into Lake Michigan, have since become important parts of the commercial and recreational boating in this area as well as part of their stormwater management strategy. These concerns were also taken into consideration while the Army Corps was developing their alternative plans.
The report contains 8 alternative plans for managing or preventing the movement of invasive species. These alternative plans range from simply continuing existing work (various electric barriers and education) to extensive physical engineering projects that physically separate the two basins to combinations of a variety of projects. These 8 alternative plans, however, do not represent the only approaches to this problem. Some of the alternative plans have timelines for implementation as high as 25 years. It is important to encourage the Army Corps to take actions that prevent the movement of invasive species in the most efficient, effective, and time sensitive manner as possible.
To preserve the ecological integrity of world’s largest surface freshwater system, as well as support the economies that depend on these ecosystems, it is important that our communities voice their opinions at this crucial moment when decisions are being made. The Army Corps has hosted public meetings across the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins this past month and now it is our turn to show them that we are as concerned about the health of our waters as we are with what gets built on its shores.
For more information on the Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study and the public meeting next week, please visit http://glmris.anl.gov/glmris-report/.