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Chicago waterways
Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
12:03pm
Thu Apr 4

State Coalition Hosts Talk On Reversing The Chicago River

Illinois’ Healthy Water Solutions Coalition has a vision for Chicago’s future.

It includes revitalizing the Chicago River via restoring the natural divide between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins.

Physical separation of the basins and Lake Michigan is the only permanent solution to prevent invasive species from transferring through the Chicago waterways, members of the coalition said at it’s public “Changing Course: Revitalizing the Chicago River” talk Wednesday night. The meeting was set to get more people engaged with the issue.

“This is about a lot more than Asian carp,” said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. “This is about more than just one fish that threatens Lake Michigan. It’s about a number of different invasive species ... but it’s also about more than fish, and the ecosystem, and the lake. It’s about restoring and utilizing a precious resource that in many ways the city has turned its back on.”

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Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
3:36pm
Fri Jul 13, 2012

Despite Congressional Action, Alarm Bells Continue To Sound On Asian Carp

A Canadian government study (PDF) released yesterday revives fears that Asian Carp will set up a population in Lake Michigan before the federal government takes preemptive action. The report arrives as both the U.S. Congress and five Great Lake states, not including Illinois, push the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), a federal government agency, to take action by the end of 2013. Read more »

Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
12:38pm
Tue Jul 3, 2012

Funding Tacked Onto Transportation Bill To Speed Up Asian Carp Prevention Plan

The recent legislative fight in Washington to keep the interest rate on federally-subsidized Stafford loans from doubling also provided an unexpected victory for those concerned with keeping invasive species out of the Great Lakes.

Included within the $120 billion transportation bill Congress passed last Friday was a measure to extend the student loan interest rate at 3.4 percent for one year as well as a provision requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to come up with a plan in 18 months to prevent Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes.

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Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
12:59pm
Fri Jun 22, 2012

Highest Ever Findings Of Asian Carp DNA In Calumet Region Lead To Concerns

Recent testing of waters near Lake Michigan has netted genetic evidence of the presence of Asian carp for a third consecutive year.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported 17 positive results of Asian carp environmental DNA (eDNA) from 114 water samples taken out of Lake Calumet and the Little Calumet River, both located on Chicago’s far South Side, late last month.

The findings were the strongest proof in two years of the existence of the invasive species within the Chicago area, according to USACE Fishery Biologist Kelly Baerwaldt, who said the results marked the highest number of positive hits for a single day since the agency began taking samples in 2009.

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