Number: 2010-08
WHEREAS, the Mississippi River System and the Great Lakes Basin are artificially connected by a system of canals and waterways in the Chicago area, including the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is used for sanitation purposes, commercial shipping, industrial intake and discharge, and for other purposes; and
WHEREAS, the connection created between the Great Lakes Basin and the Mississippi River System has opened a pathway for aquatic invasive species from one ecosystem to invade the other; and
WHEREAS, many invasions or the spread of aquatic invasive species have occurred via canals in the Great Lakes region, and some aquatic invasive species (e.g., the zebra mussel) have been extremely disruptive, both ecologically and economically; and
WHEREAS, certain aquatic invasive species that have already caused significant harm threaten to expand their ranges, including the round goby, which has already migrated from the Great Lakes Basin into the Illinois River, and Asian carp species, which have already migrated into the Illinois River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal; and
WHEREAS, current efforts to block the migration of species consist of an electrical dispersal barrier (and a demonstration barrier still in operation) on the canal (near Romeoville, Illinois) with plans to construct a third electrical barrier and periodic application of fish toxicants; and
WHEREAS, the current system of electric fences, while critically important to address the invasive species migration while allowing barge passage, is not a 100% effective way to address the trans-migration of species; and
WHEREAS, environmental DNA evidence of Asian carp has been detected in many locations throughout the Chicago Area Waterway System above the electrical fences and in Lake Michigan; and
WHEREAS, current state and federal action to prevent the invasion of Asian carp into the Great Lakes ecosystem has been inadequate to protect the Great Lakes; and
WHEREAS, the only fully-effective permanent solution for stopping the movement of live organisms between the Mississippi River System and the Great Lakes Basin is to physically separate the two, any other option (e.g. technology barriers; dead zones, perpetual chemical treatments) being doomed to failure;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that National Wildlife Federation, in its annual meeting assembled April 8–10, 2010, in Houston, TX hereby calls for the hydrological separation of the Mississippi River System and the Great Lakes Basin with the first priority severing the connection between the ecosystems at Chicago and eventually severing other connections between the ecosystems; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that National Wildlife Federation urges Congress and the Administration to expedite the hydrological separation of the Mississippi River System and Great Lakes Basin; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that hydrological separation must permanently block passage of aquatic organisms while allowing for waterborne commerce on both sides of the divide with connections to rail, highway and alternative transportation systems.