Asian carp battle moves to Ypsilanti, Michigan

Local industry and state and federal governments weighed in on the Asian carp fiasco last week. The battle moves to Ypsilanti, Mich., today, where discussions with federal officials won't be friendly.

The big issue will be whether most of the Great Lakes states can convince Illinois, Indiana and a collection of federal agencies that Asian carp are so dangerous there is only one solution to the problem: Shut down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to prevent the different species of Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes.

Indiana has joined Illinois in fighting a complete closure, with losing flood control on the waterway a primary concern. In Chicago, private industry crowded the Feb. 8 meeting to fight any closure of the canal, despite worries about Asian carp containment. Federal officials all but agreed, debuting a fanciful plan that included a part-time closure. Even that was criticized as too restrictive by Chicago shipping interests, a $200 million industry trying to block permanently closing the locks to protect a $9 billion fishing industry.

The Michigan meeting that begins at 3 p.m. should be dominated by aquatic experts from around the Great Lakes. Fisheries managers are expected to challenge federal officials about the folly of their plan and emphasize the destructive nature of the algae-eating carp.

The experts are sure Asian carp will quickly dominate the Great Lakes fishery, as they did mid-America's major rivers, if they make it into Lake Michigan.

State officials, especially Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, are demanding a closure. A Republican, Cox hasn't minced words when attacking the federal plan and its shortcomings. Cox and other state officials can point to the shortcomings of a variety of federal agencies over the past three decades that allowed Asian carp into U.S. waters and failed to control them.

The threat of Asian carp didn't slip into Chicago under the dark of night. The carp arrived to benefit southern fish farmers, with the blessing of federal agencies, and escaped when ponds flooded. Asian carp rapidly dominated the Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois and other rivers, providing ample warning of their destructive nature.

Last week, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers told the Chicago crowd there were four alternatives. The lock operations on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal could continue normal operations, the locks opening and closing as needed. Or, the locks could be closed three to four days a week, one week a month or two weeks a month.

None of those alternatives satisfied Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher or Director Sean Logan of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Complete closure is the answer, they said, and it should have been done yesterday.