When Monsters Attack

Non-native fish and wildlife are creating havoc in our eco-systems from Minnesota to Florida. They are decimating the landscape, kicking out native wildlife from their habitats, and costing taxpayers billions of dollars. The sad thing about this plot is that some of these invasions were preventable through improved processes in wildlife importing.

Snakes in the Glades

University of Florida researchers holding a Burmese python caught alive in the Everglades in 2009. Photo courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.

They pose a serious risk to the endangered Florida panther by competing for the same food sources. The internet is full of photos of battles between these monstrous snakes and powerful alligators.

Their apparent ability to adapt to our southern climates may allow the snakes to migrate further away from the Everglades.

Flying Fish of the Heartland

The south isn’t the only place under invasion from alien creatures. The American heartland is struggling with aquatic aliens collectively known as asian carp. Asian carp is a catchall name for species of silver, bighead, grass, and black carp from Southeast Asia. They were imported in the 1970s to filter pond water in fish farms in Arkansas. Flooding allowed them to escape. They are slowly migrating north up the Mississippi tributaries and there are fears that they will soon reach the Great Lakes. Once established they are virtually impossible to eradicate. Females lay approximately half a million eggs each time they spawn putting pressure on native fish populations. The huge, hard-headed silver carp also pose a threat to boaters. The fish can leap out of the water when startled by boat engines, often colliding with people and causing injuries.

Rodents of Unusual Size

Further south on the Mississippi river a large rodent, known as nutria, is creating a nuisance in the wetlands. Originally imported for the fur trade from South America, nutria currently populate 15 states. They were introduced to Coastal Louisiana in the 1930s and have caused a devastating effect on the fragile Mississippi River Delta. Eating the stems of wetland plants, nutria overgraze a wetland area eventually turning the wetlands to open water.

The Birds

Resembling the Hitchcock film, this flying creature can be found throughout the U.S. and has the claim of the “most hated bird in North America.” The European Starling was imported as a New York businessman’s not-so-brilliant idea to import exotic birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays to Central Park. Over 200 million European Starlings are now residents of American farms and cities. These nuisances run off native birds and cause over $800 million in damage to agriculture each year. That’s only the tip of the problems these birds cause.

How to Stop a Monster

All four of these alien invaders have one thing in common—human introduction to North America. The humans may have been well-intentioned, but they did not consider the long-term consequences of bringing exotic wildlife to our country.

There are still no regulations to analyze the risks of non-native species before allowing them to be imported. As a result, native wildlife—and public health—is threatened by additional invasive species. Recently the House of Representatives introduced a bill, the Invasive Fish & Wildlife Prevention Act of 2012, to improve the initial screening process for importing exotic fish and wildlife. While it won’t end the current invasions, it may prevent future ones.

Non-native species create imbalances in our ecosystems, putting endangered wildlife at risk. It costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year to deal with the invaders. It’s time to be proactive about wildlife importations.

Help protect native wildlife, including Florida Panthers, from invasive species like the python.

The samples were among over 400 samples taken in August of last year, and are the first positive samples for Asian carp eDNA in Michigan or Ohio waters since eDNA surveillance began in 2010.

Four of the samples from Sandusky Bay (Ohio waters) were positive for bighead carp, and two samples from north Maumee Bay (Michigan waters) were positive for silver carp. In response to the findings, officials began electro-shocking and netting last Friday in Sandusky Bay, and no evidence of Asian carps was found.

Environmental DNA analysis is being increasingly used to monitor for the potential presence of invasive Asian carps in the Great Lakes. The technique (which involves analysis of material in water such as scales or mucous) can indicate whether a species has been present in the area in the recent past, though there can be positive results even if a fish is dead.

Bighead, silver, and grass carp (top to bottom). Photo from U.S. FWS.

The study found that along with Lakes Michigan and Huron, Lake Erie was at greatest risk of introduction, given high potential for bighead and silver carp to arrive, spread, survive, and establish breeding populations.

This risk assessment followed on a recent assessment by USGS researchers which indicated that conditions in tributaries and the open water of Lake Erie would be sufficient to allow Asian carps to spawn and mature in the lake.

According to Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the positive results have led to a plan of action among state and federal agencies and the eDNA research team. MDNR has also created a Web site for reporting on Asian carps sightings.

These results further highlight the urgency of both addressing the ongoing threat of migration of Asian carps from the Mississippi River Basin to Lake Michigan (through acceleration of a determination on viable hydrological separation measures in the Chicago Area Waterways System) as well as enhancing early detection and rapid response efforts in the region, in particular in areas considered to be at highest risk of introduction of Asian carps.

The report found that it would take as few as 10 male and 10 female Asian carp to establish a reproducing population in the Great Lakes. Read the report here.

The Canadian study came as scientists in the U.S. continue to find Asian carp DNA in waters connected to Lake Michigan — well beyond an electric barrier that was supposed to halt its advance toward the Great Lakes.

“This report underscores the severity of the threat Asian carp threat and the need for leadership so that we can solve the problem once and for all,” said Andy Buchsbaum, director of National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center. ”The Asian carp are moving toward the Great Lakes far faster than the government response, and this report shows that the cost of inaction will be devastating. President Obama and Gov. Romney need to declare that they will take the necessary action to build an effective physical barrier to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.” Read the Great Lakes Pledge here.

Asian carp were imported to commercial fish farms in Arkansas in the 1960s. They escaped into the Mississippi River system in the 1980s and have been swimming up the river, toward Lake Michigan and Lake Erie.

Asian carp breed like mosquitoes, eat like hogs and leap out of the water when disturbed by the sound of boat motors.

Although Asian carp could live in all of the Great Lakes, the Canadian study concluded that the invaders would have major ecological impacts in lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. Asian carp would transform the ecosystems in those lakes, disrupt native fisheries and create new food webs, according to the study. Other findings were:

– Chicago area waterways and canals are the most likely entry point through which Asian carp would access the Great Lakes. The probability of entry of Asian carp entering Lake Michigan through the Chicago canal system is “very high,” with a “high” degree of certainty.

– Asian carp could survive in the relatively cold waters of all five Great Lakes.

– There is enough food in the lakes to support Asian carp.

– And there is suitable spawning habitat for Asian carp in tributaries that flow into all five Great Lakes.

Watch NWF’s video to see how Asian carp could wreak havoc on the Great Lakes.

Dan Egan with the Journal Sentinel captures the story.

Not good news

What this means is more and more Asian carp are finding their way past the electrical barrier —which is in direct contrast with the Army Corps’ assurance that these barriers are working to stop carp from entering the Great Lakes.

Also of concern is that these new test results were apparently posted 10 days ago very quietly via an update on a website that only a select few wonks (including me) check.

Given that Asian carp negatively impact our fish, wildlife and economy of the Great Lakes, this information should have been released more broadly to the public.

If this doesn’t alarm folks—it should. We need to permanently separate the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River in Chicago in order to stop Asian carp and other invasive species from moving back in forth between both basins.

While the Corps sluggishly moves, Asian carp are swimming faster and getting closer to our Great Lakes. We appreciate the efforts of the White House to speed up its efforts on finding a solution, but more urgent action needs to happen now or our Great Lakes will never be the same.

While some may say that Pharaoh brought his troubles on himself, we actually did introduce some of these pests ourselves, albeit with the best of intentions, only to suffer the havoc they now wreak.  Fortunately, in several cases there are also actions we can take to eliminate them before things get out of hand.

The vibration of boats' motors spurs asian carp to jump out of the water. (credit: USFWS)

Ten of Our Very Own Plagues:

1. Asian Carp

   Fast-growing, aggressive fish that are outcompeting native species for food and habitat in much of the Midwest, where they have no natural predators. They are on the verge of invading the Great Lakes, which would have devastating consequences for fish populations, spawning habitats, anglers, boaters and the biggest freshwater ecosystem in the world. Aside from making them into gefilte fish, here’s how you can help.

2. Cane Toads

   Originally introduced to fight crop pests, at which they were unsuccessful, when provoked cane toads secrete a toxin that is dangerous to pets and native wildlife, including their predators. With each female capable of producing 30,000 eggs in one sitting, they breed like warty, poisonous rabbits. It’s like that time Bart lost his frog in Australia.

3. Starlings

   Famously introduced in 1890 as part of the romantic notion to bring all birds mentioned by the Bard to New York City, starlings spread and thrived. Now, despite their beautifully mesmerizing murmurations, starlings are causing $800 million in agricultural damage per year and millions more in damage to the airline industry.

4. Kudzu

   

   The Vine that Ate this House (Credit: Natalie Maynor)

   Now known as the “Vine that Ate the South,” it was originally cultivated to feed livestock and prevent soil erosion. But it grows too well, taking over houses, choking out sunlight, and destroying other forest species. Kudzu, along with several other invasives like Garlic Mustard and Asian carp, is edible. Do your part, click for recipes.

5. Giant reed

   Currently used as a bioenergy crop in Florida and Oregon and being considered for use in North Carolina, despite its listing as a noxious weed in a number of states. It also invades important riparian ecosystems and displaces native species across the southern half of the country. In California, giant reed caused extensive damage to ecosystems and human infrastructure in many coastal and inland watersheds. More than $70 million has been spent over the past 15 years to control this invasive weed. Check out NWF’s new report on avoiding the use of invasives for bioenergy sources.

6. Zebra mussels

   

   Zebra mussels growing on zebra mussels (Credit: USFWS)

   By devastating the food chain, reducing fish populations, chocking water pipes and infrastructure and encrusting fishing equipment, boats and docks, these mussels have revealed the danger of biologically unsafe shipping practices. Learn more about NWF’s work to stop untreated ballast water from pouring non-native aquatic species into the Great Lakes.

7. Stinkbugs

   They’re stinky. They’re taking over. Enough said.

8. Emerald Ash Borer

   Since 2002 this pest has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the country. After devastating the tree-lined streets of Detroit, they are now munching their way across 15 states, eliminating habitat and creating fire hazards that imperil wildlife, humans and property.

9. Burmese python

   

   Burmese Python, (credit: South Florida Water Management District)

   
   Snakes on the Plain! Everglades National Park is infested with nearly 100,000 of these gargantuan snakes, many descended from abandoned pets, and they’re making their way up the coast, as far north as Virginia. These pythons were recently listed as “injurious” by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which means FWS can prohibit their importation to the US and their use in interstate commerce. Given they are capable of eating goats, crocodiles, pets and livestock, and the threat they pose to birds, I’d say “injurious” is putting it lightly.

10. Climate Change

    Ok, so it’s not a plant but it’s definitely plaguing us with increased extreme weather events, milder winters, drought, hail the size of snowballs, record-breaking floods, tornadoes in unanticipated regions and much more.  Unfortunately, it’s also giving many of these species a leg (or a leaf) up towards making themselves right at home in America. According to Harvard researchers, climate change is providing welcome conditions for invasive plants to dominate the landscape, which will only add to the burden facing farmers, ranchers, gardeners, and all Americans.  You can help by taking action to fight carbon pollution from power plants.

Want to learn more about how to set Americans free from these invasive plagues? Check out NWF’s work to stop invasive species and how you can help.

What invasive species do you see in your area? How are they impacting your local environment? Let us know, down below.

Help stop Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

Live Asian Carp Captured Just South of Twin Cities

On Friday March 1st, comercial fisherman captured live Asian (silver and bighead) carp in the Mississippi River near Winona, Minnesota.  This recent capture is a game changer.

If Asian carp are allowed to move further north, Minnesota’s wildlife and way of life are at risk.

Several positive eDNA hits of Asian carp were found this summer in the Twin Cities in the Mississippi, St. Croix and Minnesota Rivers.  So, this capture reaffirms the results of the positive eNDA testing.

Known to batter boaters and even knock them into the water at the sound of a passing motor, Asian carp are voracious filter feeders that can grow to more than 4 feet long, weigh up to 100 pounds and quickly dominate a body of water by gobbling up the same food that sustains native fish populations.

Minnesota Congressional Delegation Steps Up

In response to this, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Representatives Keith Ellison, Erik Paulsen, and Tim Walz introduced The Upper Mississippi Conservation and River Protection Act (Upper Mississippi CARP Act) yesterday.

The bill would require the Upper St. Anthony Falls Dam to be closed in the event that Asian carp are found in certain areas closer to the dam until appropriate control measures can be put in place.

In addition, the bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct feasibility studies on both the temporary and permanent closing of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Dam within six months and a year of the bill becoming law respectively.  The studies would also examine the possibility of using other control methods, such as modifying lock operations and alternative barriers, to stop the spread of Asian carp. The bill would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to close the Upper St. Anthony Falls Dam based on the findings of these feasibility studies.

National Wildlife Federation and our state affiliate, Minnesota Conservation Federation, join Minnesota Governor Dayton, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and numerous Minnesota Legislators in support of this bill.  

This new legislation is a refreshing and bi-partisan display of unified support for action to stop Asian carp.   

Asian silver carp leap out of the water when disturbed by the sound of boat motors. (Great Lakes Fishery Commission photo)

“We’re winning the war on Asian carp,” Davis said Wednesday during a White House Great Lakes Summit, which was held in conjunction with Great Lakes Days in Washington, D.C.

Government crews are “beating back” the advance of Asian carp in the Chicago Waterway System, the network of manmade canals that form an artificial link between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, Davis said.

His claim was met with a stunned silence from the group of scientists and conservation leaders (including several from National Wildlife Federation) who were invited to participate in the Great Lakes Summit.

The reason: Researchers have repeatedly found traces of Asian carp DNA in Chicago-area waters with direct connections to Lake Michigan. Those findings suggest Asian carp have breached a flawed electric fish barrier in the Chicago Waterway System and reached the southern fringe of Lake Michigan.

Faster action needed on separating Great Lakes, Mississippi River basins

The Obama Administration has spent more than $100 million over the past two years to fight Asian carp and plans to spent another $50 million this year. That level of support is commendable.

Asian carp — which eat like hogs, breed like mosquitoes and leap out of the water when disturbed by the sound of boat motors — could decimate the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery and pose potentially lethal hazards to boaters in the region.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently moving at a snail’s pace as it studies how best to prevent Asian carp in the Mississippi River system from invading the Great Lakes. The Corps plans to study the issue for at least three more years before recommending solutions.

Experts have said that separating Lake Michigan from the Mississippi River is the only sure way to prevent Asian carp and other harmful invasive species from moving between the two basins.

The Great Lakes Commission produced a report in January that offered three options for breaking the artificial connection between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River basin. Read more here.

The looming threat

Currently, there are no reproducing populations of Asian carp in the Great Lakes. But individual Asian carp have previously been found in Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Chicago-area waters connected to Lake Michigan.

Given the mounting evidence of Asian carp lurking in southern Lake Michigan, it’s premature for government officials to claim they are winning the war against this menacing species of fish.

Worse, it’s tempting fate.

Major Milestone for Sustainable Biofuels

February 10 – The NCS International announced on Thursday that it has certified the world’s first biofuels operation to achieve certification against the Principles and Criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB).

The RSB has developed a third-party certification system for biofuels sustainability standards, encompassing environmental, social and economic principles and criteria through an open, transparent, and multi-stakeholder process. National Wildlife Federation played a key role in establishing this global standard for the voluntary certification of biofuels and hopes the new system will promote good practices on the ground, and eventually help end biofuels production practices that are harmful to the climate and environment.

Coalition to Next President: Commit to Action on Great Lakes, Asian Carp

February 7 – In a pledge sent to election committees of former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. Ron Paul, Gov. Mitt Romney, former Sen. Rick Santorum and President Barack Obama, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is calling on White House aspirants to commit to supporting Great Lakes restoration and action on Asian carp.

“Millions of people are counting on the next president of the United States to stand up for the Great Lakes,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

BP Profits Highlight Need for Congress to Pass RESTORE Act

February 7 – Reports today indicate that BP made a major profit for 2011. BP announced that it made a profit of $25.7 billion during the 2011 calendar year. BP’s fourth-quarter profits alone reached $7.69 billion, up 38 percent from 2010. The company made $3 million every hour during 2011.

“BP made nearly $26 billion and the Gulf still waits to be restored,” said Jeremy Symons, senior vice president of conservation and education with National Wildlife Federation.

As Consumer Demand for Sustainable Products Increases, More U.S. Companies Open Their Supply Chains for Review

February 7 – Today the Forest Footprint Disclosure project and the National Wildlife Federation announced the results of the 2011 disclosure survey which asks companies whether they use products linked to deforestation, and what they are doing about it. The number of U.S. companies volunteering to disclose their impacts on forests almost doubled in 2011, with The Walt Disney Company and Johnson & Johnson topping the list of notable additions this year.

“More and more, consumers want to know that the products they buy at the store are not doing harm to the planet,” said Barbara Bramble, NWF international policy advisor.

Tar Sands Development to Lead to Poisoning of Wolves

February 6 – As the Obama administration decides whether to give the go-ahead to the 1,700-mile Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas, wildlife biologists have sounded a new alarm: expanding oil and gas production is contributing to the decline of caribou herds in Alberta.

Incredibly, Canada’s proposed solution to habitat destruction from tar sands development is to destroy the wolves that prey on caribou, instead of protecting their habitat. Two particularly repugnant methods of destroying wolves – shooting wolves from helicopters and poisoning wolves with baits laced with strychnine – would be carried out in response to the caribou declines.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• Associated Press: Group asks candidates to support Asian carp fight
• Los Angeles Times: Canada responds to caribou decline with plan to kill wolves
• The Portland Press Herald: Conservation advocates voice fears about oil pipeline

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

Obama Administration Hits the Accelerator for Responsible Offshore Wind Development

February 2 – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the agency responsible for permitting offshore wind energy, has hit the accelerator in the pursuit of this massive, domestic clean energy source.

In releasing the Final Environmental Assessment for commercial wind leasing and site assessment activities on the Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf, BOEM has effectively cut at least two years off the permitting process for offshore wind off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. Once an auction process is completed, it is expected that numerous leases will be issued in 2012, allowing critical data to be collected for the development of construction and operations plans for offshore wind projects in these areas.

Tribes Prepare for Homecoming of Wild Bison from Yellowstone

January 31 – People on the Fort Peck Reservation in northeast Montana are preparing a big welcome-home ceremony for a fellow Plains native whose absence for more than a century has left voids in the ecosystem and cultures it helped shape.

Nearly 70 wild bison from Yellowstone National Park, part of the country’s last, free-ranging herd, will be released onto the reservation, home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. The release, expected some time in March, will mark the return of the last genetically pure bison to the plains and the reunion of animals and people once seen as inseparable.

Great Lakes–Mississippi River Separation is Possible, Practical and Preventive

January 31 – A much-anticipated study says separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to prevent the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species is not only possible, but a natural step toward much-needed action to improve Chicago’s water infrastructure.

Great Lakes environmental groups reacting to the study, released today by the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, commended the authors’ factual analysis concluding that separation is possible and that it must include essential upgrades to sewage, flood control and waterborne transportation while preventing the transfer of invasive species.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• Associated Press: Colorado pols say stable oil, gas rules needed
• Reuters: Plans to block carp will re-reverse Chicago River
• E&E News: Sweeping energy package reaches House floor
• Bloomberg Businessnews: U.S. Plans to Auction Leases for Offshore Wind Farms in 2012 

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

The reason: The Great Lakes Commission on Tuesday released its long-awaited study of how to separate Lake Michigan from the Chicago Waterway System and the Mississippi River basin. (Go here for more details)

The Chicago Waterway System, built in the late 1800s, is a network of canals that created an unnatural link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River basin; it is also the pipeline through which Asian carp and other invasive species move between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins.

The study by the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative — which cost $2 million and was completed in just 14 months — provided three options for separating Lake Michigan from the Mississippi River basin.  Most importantly, the study showed that separating the two basins could be achieved without causing flooding in Chicago or harming the regional economy.

The Great Lakes Commission study provided three options for separating Lake Michigan from the Mississippi River basin.

Keeping Asian carp out of the Great Lakes will take a Herculean effort by many government agencies. But it is clearly a war worth fighting. Allowing Asian carp to invade the Great Lakes would cost far more than preventing this ecological disaster.

Scientists have concluded that separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin is the only permanent solution to the invasive species crisis that is wreaking havoc on both of these massive ecosystems.

It’s important to note that the Great Lakes Commission produced its study in 14 months. The U.S. Army Corps Engineer’s study of how best to keep Asian carp in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers from invading Lake Michigan won’t be completed until late 2015, at the earliest. The timeline for the Army Corps study is simply unacceptable.

It took the United States four years to win World War II and a decade to put a man on the moon. At its current pace, the Army Corps will take at least eight years — from the time Congress authorized the Asian carp study — to propose solutions; implementing a solution will take several more years.

Asian carp could be spreading throughout the Great Lakes by the time the Army Corps proposes a permanent solution.

The Chicago Waterway System created an unnatural link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River basin.

Much of the information in this timeline was culled from a series of articles written by Dan Egan of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Egan’s outstanding work brought the Asian carp crisis to the nation’s attention and he continues to break news about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers questionable handling of this looming ecological disaster.

ASIAN CARP TIMELINE

1963: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service imports grass carp from Malaysia to a federal research facility in Arkansas.

1966: First believed escape of Asian carp into U.S. waters, in Arkansas.

1970: State of Arkansas begins stocking grass carp in weed-choked waters throughout the state.

1973: An Arkansas fish farmer who ordered the first commercial import of grass carp from Taiwan unintentionally receives the nation’s first shipment of bighead, silver and black carp.

1974: The Arkansas Fish and Game Commission agrees to take the bighead, silver and black carp from the fish farmer who mistakenly received the fish from Taiwan. The state begins breeding the fish and reports it stocked more than 380,000 grass carp in Arkansas waters.

1979: Arkansas Game and Fish, with a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, begins using silver and bighead carp in sewage treatment experiments.

1980: The first report of silver carp swimming in the wild.

Early 1990s: Flooding allows silver and bighead carp in Arkansas fish farms to escape into the Mississippi River.

2002: Electric fish barrier is installed in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, about 25 miles from where the Chicago River connects with Lake Michigan. The barrier was originally built to prevent round gobies in Lake Michigan from migrating into the Mississippi River basin via the Chicago canal system. Gobies breached the barrier before it was completed, so government officials opted to use it to stop the northerly migration of Asian carp.

Late 2002: Biologists find Asian carp 21 miles downstream of the experimental fish barrier, roughly 45 miles from the Lake Michigan shoreline in Chicago.

2003: After a common carp is tracked swimming through the electric fish barrier, operators increase the voltage. The barrier then fails for 25 hours, but government officials doubt that any Asian carp passed through it during the power outage.

2007: Congress directs the Army Corps of Engineers to find ways to halt the movement of Asian carp and other invasive species between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins. Three years passes before the Army Corps begins the study.

November 2008: A study commissioned by the Alliance for the Great Lakes concludes that hydrologic separation of Lake Michigan from the Chicago Waterway System and Mississippi River basin is technically feasible.

November 2009: The Army Corps of Engineers discloses that 32 positive samples of Asian carp DNA were found beyond the electric fish barrier; some were found within nine miles of Lake Michigan. In response to those findings, National Wildlife Federation and other conservation groups call for permanent separation of Lake Michigan from the Mississippi River basin.

January 2010: The U.S. Supreme Court rejects Michigan’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have forced the closure of locks in the Chicago Waterway System to prevent Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan. Hours later, the Corps of Engineers announces it has found Asian carp DNA in waters connected to Lake Michigan.

June 2010: Federal officials rule out closing locks in the Chicago Waterway System to prevent Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan. That same month, one live bighead carp was found in Lake Calumet, which is several miles south of Lake Michigan but directly connected to it.

February 2010: President Obama pledges $78 million to prevent Asian carp in the Mississippi River and Chicago Waterway System from invading the Great Lakes.

April 2010: The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear a request to permanently separate the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River to prevent the movement of Asian carp and other harmful aquatic invasive species between the two basins. The attorneys general of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio and New York filed the case.

July 2010: Asian carp are found in Indiana’s Wabash River, a few miles from where the Wabash often floods and flows into the Maumee River, a major tributary of Lake Erie.

December 2010: The Corps of Engineers launches its Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, known as GLMRIS. The agency announces that the study of how to keep Asian carp and other invasive species from moving between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins will be completed in 2015. Conservation groups and some members of Congress call on the Army Corps to complete the study within 18 months, but the agency refuses to alter its timeline.

March 2011: The Corps of Engineers acknowledges that the electric barrier in the Chicago Waterway system doesn’t repel all sizes of Asian carp.

June 2011: A group of prominent scientists, after concluding that an Asian carp invasion of the Great Lakes is imminent, calls for the hydrologic separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

July 2011: For the third time in 2011, the Corps of Engineers finds Asian carp DNA in Lake Calumet, which is directly connected to Lake Michigan.

December 2011: A Corps of Engineers study reveals that the volume of cargo hauled on the Chicago Waterway System decreased by nearly 50 percent between 1994 and 2009. The study discredits the claim that separating the Lake Michigan from the Chicago Waterway System — to halt the movement of Asian carp and other invasive species between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins — will devastate Chicago’s economy. Go here for more study details.

January 2012: The U.S. Geological Survey concludes that three of Ohio’s largest rivers — the Maumee, Sandusky and Grand — provide suitable habitat for Asian carp, which could allow the fish to establish a reproducing population in western Lake Erie.

January 2012: The study by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative provides three options for creating a permanent hydrologic barrier between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River basin. Building the barriers would cost between $3 billion and $9 billion and take at least a decade to complete, according to the study.