By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
LANSING, MI –
There is some new evidence that Asian carp may have slipped past the Chicago-area electric barriers meant to keep the invasive species from reaching the Great Lakes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported this week that several samples from Chicago-area waterways showed DNA from a species of Asian carp.
That's not proof that Asian carp are nearing Lake Michigan. But environmental groups say the test results prove the risk is there.
John Sellek of the Michigan Attorney General's office says it's more evidence the canal in Chicago that runs into Lake Michigan should be closed as a precaution.
"Often, after a tragedy, we sit and we wonder, were there any tell-tale signs that we could have seen that would have helped us avoid this tragedy and now we're up to 85 positive tests that show Asian carp beyond all the electrical barriers that the federal government say are the final line of defense for the Great Lakes," he says.
Hundreds of other tests conducted by the Army have turned up negative for Asian carp DNA.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is suing the federal government in an effort to order the Chicago shipping locks closed.