Special PaBIA 2017 eBlast for USA Members

 Volume 9 No. 17

Our GBA Representatives, Linda Watts and Mike Berton, have brought to PaBIA an urgent request from the Georgian Bay Association that YOU, as one of our USA members, respond to this request with regard to the Asian Carp concerns in the Great Lakes! Please read and if you are able, to respond by this coming Monday!

Linda responded to my question about whether or not the Asian Carp had in fact gotten into the Great Lakes, “I understand that Asian Carp are getting closer to the Great Lakes: ‘an eight pound Silver carp breached the electric barrier and was found just nine miles from Lake Michigan’.”

From our President, Tom Scoon:

“I do not know if the Asian carp has made it into the Great Lakes or not, but it is clearly a menace.

I support forwarding this information to our American members – any of whom might make a difference should they know about this and choose to get involved or write a letter.

Cheers, Tom

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Asian Carp Getting Too Close For Comfort!

GBA monitors all activities that relate to the ongoing threat of Asian Carp getting into the Great Lakes and Georgian Bay. The main point of potential entry for these invaders is up the Mississippi River tributaries and into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Control of this route rests entirely on the US side. GBA is asking our members’ members who are US citizens to reach out to their Senators to ask them to petition Secretary McCarthy as per the details in the letter below. These is some URGENCY as the deadline for Senators to sign on is this coming Monday morning!

Background

In 2014 the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) concluded that a formal evaluation of potential control options and technologies near Brandon Road Lock and Dam to prevent the movement of ANS from the Mississippi River Basin to the Great Lakes Basin was an appropriate next step in creating barriers to prevent Asian Carp from moving from the Mississippi River system and up the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

The Brandon Road Lock is downstream (ie on the Mississippi side of the Ship Canal) from the existing 4 electric barriers. The USACE prepared an interim report that will include an additional electric barrier, hardening of a stretch of the shore line, noise barriers, water jets and pleasure craft launches on either sides of the barriers. The USACE was directed to finalize their report by January 2019. There is concern amongst the US ENGO community that this timeline will be missed which will delay implementation of the proposed barriers. They have asked us to encourage our US members to call their Senators to ask them to contact Acting Secretary McCarthy to direct the USACE to meet the January 2019 target for the final report.

From: National Wildlife Foundation

Sent: November 15, 2017 9:50 AM

To: Healing Our Water Coalition

Subject: Action Alert: Senate GLTF Letter re Brandon Road Comments

Importance: High

Hi Folks-

We are urging folks to contact their Senators and encourage them to sign on to the below letter to Secretary McCarthy regarding the Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP) for the Brandon Road Study. The letter supports meeting the original timeline for the Chief’s Report, asks for a timeline for the completion of the report, and expresses concerns over the implementation timeline for the TSP. Please join us in making calls to Senate offices this week in support of this letter!

You may contact your Member of Congress via the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121

Current sign ons are: Senators Stabenow, Portman, and Baldwin.

The deadline for Senators to sign on is Monday morning. Office should contact Aaron Suntag in Senator Stabenow’s office to sign on. Full text of the letter is below.

Thank you,

Celia

Celia Haven

Field Manager, Great Lakes Restoration

National Wildlife Federation

Uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world