Michigan Congressional Lawmakers Seek Anti-Carp Bill Support

From © The Detroit News

By NATHAN HURST

Washington -- Michigan's congressional delegation is reaching across party lines to drum up support for the CARP ACT, a bill authored earlier this year aimed at keeping the invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, will today lead a group of at least 16 senators and representatives in a news conference calling for passage of the bill they co-authored. They seek an immediate closure of Chicago-area locks in a bid to keep the invasive carp out of Lake Michigan.

Environmental experts said if the fish were to successfully spawn in Lake Michigan, their offspring could quickly take over the Great Lakes ecosystem, causing irreparable harm to multi-billion dollar sport and commercial fishing industries and posing a hazard to boaters.

In the Mississippi River, the carp have become notorious for their large size -- up to four feet long and 100 pounds, in the most extreme cases -- and penchant for leaping out of the water when disturbed by boat engines, sometimes injuring boaters.

Carp DNA was discovered near Lake Michigan in December, after which federal and state wildlife authorities poisoned the canal and river water. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court and the White House denied requests from Michigan to immediately close the Chicago area locks and canals connecting the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River.

Officials in Illinois contend closing the locks wouldn't guarantee the carp couldn't get through, since locks aren't watertight, and warned extended closure would damage Chicago's shipping industry and cause flooding.

Besides Stabenow and Camp, Michigan House Republicans Candice Miller, Mike Rogers, Fred Upton and Thad McCotter and Democrats Dale Kildee and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick will be joined by Democrats from Minnesota and New York pushing for passage of the CARP ACT, which stands for Close All Routes and Prevent Asian Carp Today.