The Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club this week backed U.S. Rep. Candice Miller’s (R-MI) Defending Our Great Lakes Act, legislation that authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take immediate action to prevent Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.
“The act’s call for swift action to implement short-term aquatic invasive species (AIS) risk reduction control technologies is critical,” Sierra Club Illinois Chapter Clean Water Organizer Katrina Phillips wrote in a letter to Miller. “We understand that the Brandon Road Lock and Dam site is a sensible location for establishing a single point to control the one-way, upstream transfer of AIS from the Mississippi River basin into the Great Lakes basin”.
Over the past year, several methods of preventing the entrance and spread of Asian carp throughout the Great Lakes have been researched. One such strategy would include the construction of an engineered channel and installed technology – such as electric barriers, CO2 bubble screens and underwater sound cannons at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, a spot identified as a critical entry point at the west end of the Chicago Area Waterway System.
Miller’s bill would give the Corps of Engineers the authority to begin work on these, and other short-term and long-term efforts to stop this invasive species from damaging the ecosystems of the Great Lakes.
“We deeply appreciate all of the work that has gone into this bill, which is a firm step toward protecting our invaluable freshwater resources from the introduction of AIS” Phillips continued in her letter. “We are also grateful for your efforts to build broad support for the bill among stakeholders and legislators, and stand ready to help in this effort.”
The Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club is a nonprofit organization representing more than 25,000 conservationists.