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A century ago the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was hailed as an engineering masterpiece. Built a century ago to carry sewage and ships, the canal connects the Great Lakes basin to the Mississippi River Valley – two ecosystems that evolved separately for millennia. But today the canal has become a superhighway that allows plants and animals from one ecosystem to invade the other. Zebra mussels from Lake Michigan have spread through the Mississippi River and her tributaries, clogging water pipes and causing millions of dollars worth of damage to industrial facilities. There are many other examples. Today two species of Asian carp threaten to devastate the Great Lakes and inflict irreversible damage on sport fisheries, wildlife, regional economies and the people that rely upon them. {Continue Reading »}

Asian carp jumping out of the Illinois River near Havana, IL

Invasive Asian Carp have been detected only six miles from Lake Michigan in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, past an electric barrier designed to keep them out of the Great Lakes. The Asian Carp Rapid Response Workgroup completed operations in late November 2009 involving intensive fishing and a major rotenone application to kill all fish in a six mile stretch of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in an effort locate and halt the spread of the carp invasion.

This was a drastic measure, taken because much is at stake if Asian carp are able to reach and populate Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes. But we can’t let this drastic event become an ongoing management measure. Nor can we allow this manmade gateway between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin to remain open and available as a conduit for further invasion to both basins. While the current threat is from invasive Asian carp to Lake Michigan, we shouldn’t lose sight of the threat posed to Illinois rivers and streams from this connection; this was the pathway for invasion of the zebra mussels into much of the eastern half of the United States. We must call on the State of Illinois and the Army Corps of Engineers to act immediately to close all connections between the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, adjacent waterways including the Des Plaines River and the I&M Cnanal, and Lake Michigan. Take action here!

Learn more about the threat of Asian Carp to our rivers and Great Lakes and what must be done to ensure protection of our aquatic resources here.

By JOHN FLESHER
The Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) – Great Lakes water cannot be diverted to thirsty areas elsewhere in the United States and abroad under an agreement signed Friday by President Bush. Click here for entire article.

Protecting the Great Lakes: The Great Lakes Compact

On December 13, 2005, the Governors of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and New York, and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec signed companion documents designed to provide unprecedented protections for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (“the Compact”) sets forth the provisions to be followed by the eight Great Lake states for protecting and managing Great Lakes water resources.

For the Compact to become a legally enforceable document it must: 1) be ratified by all the Great Lakes states; and 2) approved by the U.S. Congress. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm’s July 9, 2008 signing of legislation ratifying the Great Lakes Compact completed the first step of the process. On July 11, 2008 Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, Chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG), notified the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that the State ratification process of the Compact was complete. To read the CGLG’s letter click here.

The next step towards ensuring that the Compact protections are in place will be Congress’ approval of the Compact. Prairie Rivers Network will continue to provide updates on our website as consideration of the Compact approval moves through Congress. We will also let you know what you can do to support this final effort towards putting the necessary protections in place for ensuring Great Lakes water and water dependent resources are managed in a sustainable manner for people and wildlife. {Continue Reading »}

For Immediate Release
November 28 , 2007

(Springfield, IL) Today, Illinois Governor Blagojevich signed into law the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, an interstate agreement to protect the Great Lakes in perpetuity. The Illinois House of Representatives unanimously adopted the Compact on March 29, 2007. The Illinois Senate voted in favor of the compact on May 22, 2007. Governor Blagojevich sealed the deal with his signature on the legislation today.

Bill sponsors, Representative Harry Osterman and Senator John Cullerton, along with Governor Rod Blagojevich and Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn were instrumental in ensuring the adoption of the Compact. “The Compact enjoys bipartisan support in the Illinois legislature and is supported by diverse stakeholders throughout the Great Lakes region. This broad support demonstrates the value of Great Lakes water resources to Illinois,” said Cecily Smith, spokesperson for the Illinois River conservation group Prairie Rivers Network. “Many Illinois citizens have first-hand experiences with the environmental and recreational benefits provided by the Great Lakes and are eager to do their part to protect this precious natural resource.” {Continue Reading »}

For Immediate Release from National Wildlife Federation
November 27 , 2007

ANN ARBOR, MI —Global warming’s impacts on the Great Lakes will likely be exacerbated unless inadequate regional water laws are strengthened to prevent water diversion, according to a new report by the National Wildlife Federation.

“The Great Lakes are facing the one-two punch of global warming and water diversion,” said report co-author Noah Hall, an environmental law professor at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Mich. “We have known for many years that existing laws are inadequate to protect the Great Lakes from diversions and overuse.  Now we know that climate change is certain to put additional stress and pressure on the Great Lakes. Prompt passage of the Great Lakes Compact will go a long way toward mitigating the impacts of global warming while safeguarding a resource that millions of people depend on for their economy and way of life.” {Continue Reading »}