Asian carp are just one of many invasive species threatening the Great Lakes

Much attention has been given recently to the threatened invasion of the Great Lakes by Asian carp, but the fish aren't the first invasive species to attack the lakes, and other rural areas have similar issues, David Harrison reports for Stateline.org.

The carp follow "other creatures such as the zebra and quagga mussel and the sea lamprey, all of which have found homes in the lakes’ waters," Harrison notes. "The carp have attained a degree of notoriety that has eluded the other species, owing to their size and their distressing habit of thrashing out of the water at the sound of passing motorboats." (Photo: Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee)

Some scientists claim "other invasive species already have depleted food sources in the Great Lakes so much that carp could find the waters to be inhospitable," Harrison reports, but the focus on the carp has brought new attention to the problem of invasive species at large. Behind the rhetoric from many state governments about closing canal locks and gates that connect Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River system is "the disconcerting fact that states are powerless to combat most invasive species," Harrison writes. "Fish and mollusks don’t respect state sovereignty, which makes it impossible for one state to completely seal off its waters from another. The best way to effectively control the spread of invasive species, advocates say, is for the federal government to step in."

Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have tried to force such action by filing a lawsuit against the federal government to make the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers speed up its efforts to protect the lakes from the fish. But even if the feds step up action to stop Asian carp, the fish may still not be the lakes biggest threat. "Their impact pales in comparison to that of the quagga mussel which first showed up in the lakes in the late 1990s and has become ensconced there," Harrison writes. "The mussels reproduce rapidly and devour plankton, disrupting the lower levels of a food chain that native species rely upon." While most of the focus has been pointed at the Mississippi River, the biggest threat may actually come from the St. Lawrence Seaway to the northeast, through which most of the 185 invasive species in the lakes entered. (Read more)

UPDATE, Aug. 2, 2010: The coalition Unlock Our Jobs responds: Shutting down the locks will have a tremendous negative effect on the regional economies and industries that depend on the waterways for shipping goods - especially the agriculture industry. Little evidence is out there to prove that it is necessary to shut the locks down. The lawsuit seems to be a classic example of politicians engaging in "leap before you look" behavior. Lock closure will absolutely devastate waterway commerce and does nothing to help the situation. Furthermore, the demands for additional barriers are completely gratuitous – plans for an additional electric barrier are already in motion.

A coalition called Unlock Our Jobs has formed to work toward a common sense, comprehensive, effective, long-term solution. Regional leaders must come together in support of solutions driven by facts and science, avoiding knee-jerk reactions and political grandstanding. There is great information at http://www.unlockourjobs.org/. The primary goal should be to keep Asian Carp out of Lake Michigan while avoiding damaging economic decisions such as lock closure.