WASHINGTON – Who would have thought a mere fish could cause a huge Washington battle, a Supreme Court case, cross-state conflict and potential devastation for two industries?
Meet the Asian carp.
Thirty years ago, an Arkansan fish farmer imported an Asian carp, which is not native to the U.S., eats voraciously (gaining a pound or two each month) and kills native species.
It’s migrated up the Mississippi River and threatens Lake Michigan. One was found in Chicago’s Lake Calumet, six miles past an electric barrier designed to stop the fish.
Everyone – no one seems to like this behemoth – is afraid it will reproduce in massive numbers throughout the Great Lakes.
That part is alarming to the $7 billion-a-year commercial and recreational fishing industries of the Great Lakes. They want accelerated government action to kill the Asian carp and block its migration northward.
One of the ways to do that (and no one has a fool-proof method) involves closing the locks in Chicago and northwest Indiana, which would be harmful to the shipping industry to the tune of $70 million in additional costs transportation costs. The lock system is the only way to get water-shipped goods between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. Plus, the locks are a flood-control measure in northwest Indiana, and many people’s homes are at stake.
An Asian carp was found within the past year south of the dam in Roush Lake in Huntington County. Although the Wabash doesn’t drain into the Great Lakes basin, some lawmakers are concerned that during flooding, an Asian carp from the Wabash River will find its way to the Maumee River in Fort Wayne. The Maumee does drain into Lake Erie.
Members of Congress proposed legislation last week to order the Army Corps of Engineers to hurry up with a study on the best ways to separate the Mississippi River basin and the Great Lakes.
Even if there is a reasonable approach to creating an ecological separation, it would be years before that could be accomplished. Meanwhile, experts in all sorts of fields are searching for another solution – fish kills high among them.
Another is closing the locks, and the state of Michigan sued to force Illinois to do that; the Supreme Court said no.
“We should be closing the locks because we should be doing everything humanly possible,” Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow said in a conference call Wednesday. “I understand it’s more complicated in the Chicago area, but the threat from the Asian carp outweighs any other issues.”
“More complicated” is a gross understatement. It’s the guaranteed flood destruction or damage to thousands of homes and the immobilization of a major transportation route for many goods, not the least of which involves the steel industry.
Meanwhile, Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources is providing information to federal agencies that are trying to figure out just how realistic the Wabash-to-Maumee-to-Erie pathway is for a giant fish.
There is no natural connection between the waterways. But when the St. Marys River floods enough, the area around Fox Island Park is where it backs up. That’s also the vicinity of the flood zone for the Little Wabash River. Could an Asian carp from the Little Wabash River somehow get past the 91-foot dam at Roush Lake, be swept by floodwaters into Fox Island and from there be carried into the St. Marys and then to the Maumee River in downtown Fort Wayne and from there to Lake Erie?
They’re looking into how much of a flood (and how frequently such a big flood occurs) it would take to provide that pathway, and then what could possibly be done about it.
And if something could be done about it, would flooding in Fort Wayne be more severe if the Fox Island flood plain were less available?
There are no good answers to this. The commercial fishing industry has a legitimate reason to want action to prevent an invasion of Asian carp in the Great Lakes. The shipping industry – and the businesses that use river and Great Lakes transportation – have a legitimate claim to continued access to the waterway.
People in Fort Wayne have a legitimate expectation that no barrier between their houses and the flood plain will be erected.
This is one of those almost intractable problems that governments face. There are pressures – in this case, valid pressures – from all sides, and it is difficult to see how this ends up in a win-win solution.
Indiana doesn’t welcome the Asian carp and would prefer it go away. But the state’s interests lie more with keeping the locks and shipping lanes open. However, Indiana is moving into a position of weakness in Washington.
Sen. Evan Bayh is leaving at the end of his term. Northwest Indiana Rep. Pete Visclosky is distracted and in an unsteady spot because of the ongoing Justice Department investigation into allegations that he traded earmarks for campaign contributions. At the minimum, three House seats and Bayh’s seat will be occupied by newcomers next year.
Meanwhile, states such as Michigan and New York – states that are highly motivated to protect the commercial fishing industry – are in a better position to guard their interests.
The best bet for all would be a scientific or engineering answer that can be implemented quickly and that does not significantly interrupt existing industries or traditional flood plains.
