Governor Granholm Urges Stronger Action on Asian Carp

Press Release

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment Director Rebecca A. Humphries today met at the White House with governors and representatives from other Great Lakes states to urge federal officials to adopt a stronger response to the threat posed by Asian carp to the Great Lakes.

"I am grateful that the Obama administration has identified John Goss as the new Asian Carp Director and I implore him to bring to this position the sense of urgency required to strengthen and expedite the federal response necessary to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes," said Granholm. "We should not leave any options on the table in protecting the Great Lakes ecosystem and the $7 billion recreational fishing and $16 billion recreational boating industries that this invasive species threatens."

Granholm said the threat of invading carp must be considered an emergency that merits action by the Army Corps of Engineers to quickly implement a separation between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Granholm believes the current timeline to study separation as one potential option to addressing carp does not reflect the seriousness of the situation.

"We continue to urge swift action by the Army Corps to expedite necessary studies to move to permanent separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watershed," said Humphries. "We appreciate the work completed thus far and look forward to collaborating with the Army Corps and other federal agencies on measures to achieve permanent separation."

Granholm stressed that while permanent separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds is the end goal, she supports other measures to prevent introduction of invasive species, such as lock closure, constant eDNA testing to identify where carp have inhabited, and the completion of electric and other barriers near Lake Michigan.

To date, Asian carp have been found past existing locks and carp barriers in the Chicago area as well as in streams in Indiana.

Source