By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-903197.mp3
LANSING, MI –
A fish kill is underway at a Chicago shipping canal to try to determine if Asian carp have slipped past the barriers set up to keep the invasive species from reaching Lake Michigan. But, as Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta reports, some officials say the effort is not aggressive enough to protect the Great Lakes.
AUDIO:
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox says pressure on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lifted once the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider his request to close the shipping canal that connects the Mississippi River system to the Great Lakes. He says the corps has pushed back deadlines and made token efforts that don't substantially address the threat of an Asian carp infestation of the Great Lakes system.
"Anyone who lives in the Great Lakes knows that when the weather heats up, the fish start moving more and the threat of more and more Asian carp getting into Lake Michigan increases by the day," he says.
Cox and five other Great Lakes attorneys general have sent a letter to the corps of engineers asking for more aggressive action and a better outline of plans to stop the invasive species.
A spokeswoman says the corps has not yet seen the letter.