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18-Mar-10 – As waterway experts try to get inside the minds of the Asian carp, businesses that depend on the Chicago River are mobilizing to prevent its possible closing to keep the carp out of Lake Michigan.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Asian carp, which have been migrating up the Mississippi River since the 1990s, can be four feet long and weigh up to 100 pounds. Researchers believe once the carp reached the Great Lakes, they would disrupt the food chain.
No decisions have been made yet, but one possibility is at least a temporary closing of locks, used to raise and lower boats between stretches of water of different levels, including the one near Navy Pier. The Chicago Harbor Lock, connecting the Chicago River to Lake Michigan, is the nation’s second-busiest lock, with 40,000 vessels passing through each year.
About 75 people attended a meeting Thursday morning at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce offices on the 22nd floor of Aon Center. They included owners and employees of Wendella and Shoreline, two sightseeing companies that transport tourists between the Chicago River and Navy Pier.
They heard from experts like Lieutenant Colonel David Berczek, who explained how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is studying ways to control the migration of Asian carp. A $78.5 million plan, outlined by President Obama in February, would use electric barriers to restrict movement of the fish.
“We’re learning as we go,” says Berczek. They have experimented with using pulses of electric current to discourage fish from swimming further, and have noted the effect of altering voltage, duration, and pulse rate.
He explained that lowering the water level might also work, but that has to be balanced against the levels needed for boats to pass through.
(Above) Lieutenant Colonel David Berczek, U.S. Army Deputy Commander, listens to business leaders following Thursday’s meeting at Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce offices to discuss the Asian carp situation.
The Corps is currently preparing a report for Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy. Its recommendations, says Berczek, would be available for public review and comment. He was not certain, however, when the recommendations might be put into effect.
Owners are concerned that even shortened hours of operation of the lock could seriously hurt their businesses. Berczek says the Corps is trying to work with users of the lock to minimize the impact should lock operations be reduced.
Carp on the move
Although the threat of the Asian carp does not appear to be in doubt – it is a large, hungry, and prolific fish that can account for 90 percent of all living matter in some areas – the group attending Thursday’s meeting appeared skeptical of its imminent threat to the Chicago River.
Only one Asian carp has been captured near Chicago. According to Deputy Commander Berczek, the live fish was found swimming near the surface in the Lower Des Plaines River south of the lock and dam at Lockport, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago.
The evidence for the existence of Asian carp is mostly from “environmental DNA.” According to the web site Asian Carp Management, all fish, including Asian carp, release DNA into the environment. Filtering water samples, then extracting and amplifying short fragments of the DNA that was shed can detect the presence of an individual species.
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Asian carp (seen at left in a photo from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) were imported by catfish farmers in the 1970s to remove algae and other matter from ponds. When ponds overflowed during floods in the 1990s, the carp made it to the Mississippi River and have been steadily swimming north.
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But Michael Borgstrom, president of Wendella Sightseeing Company, calls e-DNA more of a “research project” and not a fully vetted, peer-reviewed study.
“All of our jobs are threatened, based on this alleged positive e-DNA,” Borgstrom told the group on Thursday, “and we haven’t caught a fish yet. I just don’t know if everyone’s aware that this is essentially a glorified science fair project that all of our lives are in the balance right now.”
(Above) Commercial users of the Chicago River attending Thursday’s meeting included employees of Wendella Sightseeing Company. Pictured here are, left to right, Captain Jennifer Perry, President Michael Borgstrom, and Craig Wenokur, Managing Director of Operations.
Jim Farrell, of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, says e-DNA is a research project with no history, but “because the Corps is such a distinguished institution, this test has by association been given great credence. And it just needs to stop.”
Farrell, who testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on February 25, says just the potential of a lock closure or modified lock operation is taking its toll on Chicago River commerce.
“Since this first started being discussed in December,” he says, “I guarantee you there’s not been a single hire in any business dependent on the water. I’m absolutely certain that no bank has issued financing. And I’m absolutely certain that no company has expanded their operations.”
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Jim Farrell (left) is Executive Director of the Infrastructure Council for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
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An economic impact study by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce will be released during the last week of March and, says Farrell, “it will put in context some balance to this discussion.”
Supreme Court joins the fight
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday in a lawsuit filed by the State of Michigan against the State of Illinois over the Asian carp.
In December, Michigan filed a case with the high court against Illinois and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. They wanted an emergency injunction issued to close the Chicago River locks immediately.
The State of Illinois responded, saying the situation was not an emergency and that this was a dispute between the State of Michigan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Supreme Court agreed, denying Michigan’s request but allowing them to re-file, which they did on February 4.
Both parties will submit their arguments on Monday and a decision is anticipated in mid-April. Observers of this case say this is over jurisdiction, or who has the authority to decide what will happen with locks on the Chicago River.
City supports its river
The City of Chicago, having spent $24 million developing the riverfront, is officially against closing the Chicago lock. The City Council is urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to find a way to contain the Asian carp that does not include shutting down the lock.
City officials estimate $10 million is invested in 40 passenger vessels on the Chicago River. 750 people are employed by the businesses that own these vessels. According to figures being used by members of Congress, 8,500 jobs are tied to port activities at the Chicago lock and T.J. O’Brien lock at Burnham, Illinois. If these locks were closed, it is estimated, 6.9 million tons of goods per year would have to be transported instead by truck.
 Related story: Wendella: Closing Chicago River would not keep out Asian carp
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