Word is out that they caught an adult in Lake Calumet (beyond the electic
fence).

So what happens now? Do you make a run for Chicago in the hopes of beating the
closure?

Realistically, I don't think the CoE can keep the locks open much longer. Not
that it will make one bit of differnce at this point, but politically, I don't
see how they could keep them open.

The question is what does this do for our little slice of the world (the
looper community)?

We've already went thru that section, so we can still close out our loop, but
we were hoping to stage the boat in the river system this fall so we could
spend the summer exploring the Cumberland and Tennessee before heading back to
the gulf (assuming the oil doesn't block our path).

Our worst case senario, is we put the boat up for the winter in Michigan and
head backward thru the trent-severn and on to Ottawa & Montreal before heading
south next fall down the east coast. This would result in 90% new cruising
territory for us until we got back to the hudson river.

Mike & Tammy
Valhalla II

Here's the story. Word around here (southern Wisconsin) is that the locks WILL
be closed soon but we hope that's just a nasty rumor.
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CHICAGO b An Asian carp was found for the first time beyond electric
barriers meant to keep the voracious invasive species out of the Great Lakes,
state and federal officials said Wednesday, prompting renewed calls for swift
action to block their advance.
Commercial fishermen landed the 3-foot-long, 20-pound bighead carp in Lake
Calumet on Chicago's South Side, about six miles from Lake Michigan, according
to the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee.
Officials said they need more information to determine the significance of the
find.
"The threat to the Great Lakes depends on how many have access to the lakes,
which depends on how many are in the Chicago waterway right now," said John
Rogner, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
But environmental groups said the discovery leaves no doubt that other Asian
carp have breached barriers designed to prevent them from migrating from the
Mississippi River system to the Great Lakes and proves the government needs to
act faster.
"If the capture of this live fish doesn't confirm the urgency of this problem,
nothing will," said Andy Buchsbaum, director of the National Wildlife
Federation's Great Lakes office.
Scientists and fishermen fear that if the carp become established in the
lakes, they could starve out popular sport species and ruin the region's $7
billion fishing industry. Asian Carp can grow to 4 feet and 100 pounds and eat
up to 40 percent of their body weight daily.
Rogner, from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, estimated that the
male carp was about 3 to 4 years old. It was caught live but has since been
killed and will be sent to the University of Illinois to determine if it was
artificially raised or naturally bred.
The fish was sexually mature, but Lake Calumet's conditions aren't conducive
to reproduction because the water is too still, Rogner said. Even so, the lake
is the ideal living environment for the fish because it's quiet and near a
river system, he added.
"It fits the model to a T," he said. "They may be concentrated in that area."
Officials said they'll use electrofishing and netting to remove any Asian carp
from the lake.
They have been migrating up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers toward the
Great Lakes for decades.
There are no natural connections between the lakes and the Mississippi basin.
More than a century ago, engineers linked them with a network of canals and
existing rivers to reverse the flow of the Chicago River and keep waste from
flowing into Lake Michigan, which Chicago uses for drinking water.
Two electric barriers, which emit pulses to scare the carp away or give a jolt
if they proceed, are a last line of defense. The Army corps plans to complete
another one this year.
"Is it disturbing? Extraordinarily. Is it surprising? No," Joel Brammeier,
president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, said of the carp's discovery
beyond the barriers.
He said the capture highlights the need to permanently sever the link between
the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. The Army Corps is studying
alternatives, but says the analysis will take years.
"Invaders will stop at nothing short of bricks and mortar, and time is running
short to get that protection in place," Brammeier said.
In Michigan, officials renewed their demand to shut down two shipping locks on
the Chicago waterways that could provide a path to Lake Michigan. The U.S.
Supreme Court has twice rejected the state's request to order the locks
closed, but state Attorney General Mike Cox said he was considering more legal
action.
"Responsibility for this potential economic and ecological disaster rests
solely with President Obama," Cox said. "He must take action immediately by
ordering the locks closed and producing an emergency plan to stop Asian carp
from entering Lake Michigan."
A Chicago-based industry coalition called Unlock Our Jobs said the discovery
of a single carp did not justify closing the locks. Doing so would damage the
region's economy and kill jobs without guaranteeing that carp would be unable
to reach the lakes, spokesman Mark Biel said.
"A few isolated incidents of Asian carp in this small section of the Illinois
Waterway does not mean existing barriers have failed," said Biel, also
executive director of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois. "Additional
regulatory controls and river barriers should be explored before permanent
lock closure is even considered

ONE OLIVER II

B