Great Lakes Article:

Editorial:Don't carp about the cost;
let's stop the rogue fish
Pantagraph (IL)
Published December 1, 2005

The old saying about closing the barn door after the horse is out could take on literal meaning if a squabble over an electrical barrier allows Asian carp to reach Lake Michigan.

The non-native carp escaped from fish farms in the South when flooding in the 1990s gave them access to the Mississippi River.

They are already in the Illinois River, displacing native fish because of their voracious appetites.

Electrical barriers operated by the Army Corps of Engineers -- and built, in part, with money from Illinois -- have kept the carp from getting established in the Great Lakes, so far.

But money to pay the electric bill could run out by May and Congress hasn't seemed too concerned.

The Corps might turn to the state to cough up the $1 million that is needed. But Illinois has its own financial problems and this isn't just an Illinois problem. If the fish reach Lake Michigan, the entire Great Lakes system could be threatened.

The estimated value of the commercial and sport fishing industry in the Great Lakes region is $4.5 billion.

It would be ridiculous to endanger that industry with a fight over a program whose costs represents a tiny fraction of a percent of what is at risk.

The threat is real. The effectiveness of the barrier has been shown. The federal responsibility for this interstate problem is clear.

The operational money should be included in the federal budget.