Asian Carp Exhibit Under Construction

ISEA will soon have a new exhibit in its Great Lakes Invaders series. The Asian Carp exhibit, funded by a grant from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians, will be completed in February.

Our Exhibit Design Consultants Angela and Erik Saxon work with ISEA's Emily Shaw on the Exhibit Content

ISEA Volunteer Ken Cerny installs the Exhibit Table (Donated by Strata Design)

Table and Back Panel in Place

Asian Carp (Bighead and Silver) Models Ready for Wall Mounting

For the latest information on the Asian carp and efforts to keep them out of the Great Lakes click on the following two links: http://asiancarp.us/ and http://www.glmris.anl.gov/

Asian Carp Found in North Dakota

Silver Carp have been found in the James River in North Dakota.  Read about it here.



James River Watershed

Asian Carp From Illinois



Last Day to Comment on the Corps of Engineers GLMRIS (to stop the Asian carp and other invasive species)

This today from the US Army Corps of Engineers:

Today, March 31st, is the last day to comment on the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study. Don't miss your opportunity! Please encourage interested parties to give their input. The US Army Corps of Engineers greatly values the interest and comments received during this comment period, which opened on November 16, 2010. Comments may be submitted online through the GLMRIS Web site.

The GLMRIS Team looks forward to a continuous relationship with our stakeholders. Periodic newsletters will be published to update you on the study's progress. Opportunities for public involvement, new documents and other important news and events will be posted on the GLMRIS Web site (a new Involvement page will go live in April) and sent to the GLMRIS e-mail subscription list. Please, join the conversation and discuss GLMRIS topics with the Corps and other stakeholders at Facebook.com/glmris and Twitter @GLMRIS.

Tell 'em what you think!  Democracy doesn't work unless the people speak. 

Potential Asian Carp Hotspots?

On my recent visit to Chicago, I wanted to familiarize myself with potential routes for Asian carp to get to Lake Michigan. When you hear talk of "closing the locks", one of these is on the Chicago River (actually in Lake Michigan) near Navy Pier. The other is the Thomas J. O'Brien Lock on the Calumet River, #6 on the map below. 



 Map from:  http://www.glmris.anl.gov/



As close as I could get to the Lock

 Unfortunately I could not get close to the lock to take photos (and there was a push-boat heading into the lock at the time I got there, which would have added interest).  Where there was once a public viewing area and restrooms, now was behind a fence with a very serious sign informing you that there is no entry, no photo taking, no note taking, map making, sketching, etc.  I assume this is in response to national security concerns, not fear of environmentalists coming to dump rocks in the canal.

I also visited the mouth of the Portage-Burns Waterway, also known as Burns Ditch, at Burns Harbor (# 5 on the map). There is a nice beach here that is part of the Indiana Dunes National Seashore. To the east are the Midwest Steel and Bethlehem Steel plants, hard on the lake shore. I guess we are spoiled here in Northern Michigan.

Portage Burns Waterway looking N towards Lake Michigan

Outlet of Portage Burns Waterway at Lake Michigan.

The Portage Burns Waterway is connected to the Little Calumet River and the Cal-Sag Canal to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.   These waterways are above (north) of the electric barrier (#7 on map).

----Tom K.

Tom Kelly's comments to the GLMRIS Scoping Meeting in Traverse City

Yesterday at the US Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study public scoping meeting in Traverse City I offered the following comments:

Inland Seas Education Association has a 22 year history of teaching students and the public about invasive species and "protecting the Great Lakes through education."

We must insure the values of the Great Lakes for our grandchildren, and out to the 7th generation and beyond. Action must consider the long term health of the Great Lakes.

• Ecological separation should be the goal of this project

• Include options to continue navigation using technology such as marine railways, boat lifts, powered dollies or other means already used in other regions. A hull & bilge washing system should be incorporated in such a system.

• Work to close human invasion pathways created by transport and sales of live Asian carp, including baitfish.

• Consider pushing back Asian carp from the area around the electric barrier, so the barrier is not the first impediment to entering the Great Lakes.

• Include education of the current problems and challenges to stopping Asian carp, and potential solutions. Develop a web-accessible time series visual model showing the hydrological functioning of the Chicago area waterways. Include stormwater, flood situations, lake level influences, navigation and sewage treatment.

- Tom Kelly, ISEA Executive Director

You can add your comments to the GLMRIS public record and learn more about this study by going to http://www.glmris.anl.gov/

Asian Carp Video From ABC News

Here is a good primer on the Asian carp invasion from ABC News.  Thanks to Craig Holmes for passing this along. 

And lots more info from Circle of Blue!  -Tom K.

Michigan's Asian Carp Action Plan Available for Review

Update: Dec. 2, 2010.  U. S. District Judge turns down states' request to shut locks.  Read more by clicking here.

The State of Michigan DNRE has published its Asian Carp Plan at www.michigan.gov/asiancarp.  I also recommend, as good background material, the paper done by Brammeier, Polls & Mackey in 2008:  Prelinary Feasibility of Ecological Separation of the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes to Prevent Transfer of Aquatic Invasive Species. 

For a possible solution on how to get barges from one watershed to another, have a look at http://www.hmrsupplies.com/photo-gallery.php?aid=1

-Tom K.

Recent Activities at the Inland Seas Education Center

A Full House for the Asian Carp Seminar by Mark Breederland on Nov. 9

Suttons Bay High School Students, under the direction of Mr. T, planning their video shoot for TV Teleganza

UpNorth TV Teleganza is tomorrow, Nov. 20 at the State Theatre.  It's a big deal, and a good deal!

Asian Carp Seminar in Sutons Bay Tonight

"Asian Carp: the Latest Threat to the Great Lakes" November 9, 2010


The Inland Seas Education Association will present a seminar that focuses on current issues involving Asian carp at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 9th, at the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay. The program will be presented by Mark Breederland, Michigan Sea Grant Extension Educator. This seminar is free and open to the public.

Bighead Carp, Illinois River, Dec. 3, 2010

Asian Carp Update

Asian Carp Found Just Above Lockport Lock in the Des Plaines River, Dec. 3, 2009 Rotenone poisoning of 5.7 miles of the Des Plaines River and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal turned up only one Asian carp, although DNA testing of water samples came up positive for Asian carp in the Calument Sag Canal near the confluence with the Des Plaines River and below the Obrien Lock. See maps of the DNA sampling area. A description and photos of the carp barrier and maps of the pre and post construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal are at http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/projects/fish_barrier/index.html

Additional information, including maps, can be found on the Great Lakes United web site.

I'll keep you posted as new information is avaiable. --Tom K.