Camo At The Capitol

Michigan to federal agencies: Close the locks

Last evening I attended a public hearing hosted by federal entities charged with dealing with the Asian Carp problem. The purpose of the meeting was to receive public feedback on the feds' draft plan to keep Asian Carp out of the great lakes, which does not include an option to immediately close navigational locks in the Chicago River system.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that U.S. Congressman John Dingell and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow showed up to urge these federal decision-makers that closing the locks is the best option in the short term, as we work to implement long term solutions aimed at keeping Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes. I prepared a video update of the hearing that you can watch below.

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As you can see, Michigan's public officials - state and federal, Republican and Democrat - are working together to relay the sense of urgency we face in the Great Lakes Region on this issue. It's our job to keep this political pressure on other states (eh hem, Illinois) and federal authorities as our blueprint for action is being drafted.

While the video was not posted this by Thursday morning, you may submit your own comments on the draft framework and watch a recording of last night's hearing in Ypsilanti online.

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