Mayor Daley to Obama: Let ‘Em Eat Carp!

Now that Asian Carp DNA has been found in Lake Michigan, Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley’s strategy has shifted from one of denial and ridicule to that old political standby: “baffle ‘em with bullshit.” Last Thursday, after the Lake Michigan carp DNA hit the fan, the White House announced that it wanted to host a “summit” with the complaining Great Lakes states’ governors. But the Asian carp may not wait for committees, studies, consultants, and the legislative process. In all likelihood they will just continue eating their way north, consuming 40% of their body weight each day as they go. What should boaters do to stop the carp NOW?

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley explaining to President Obama exactly what he should be doing about Asian carp. This picture speaks for itself as to the power, resolve and influence of Mayor Daley. Obviously, Daley’s mother didn’t teach her son not to point.

See CBS Evening News video report...

Evidently President Obama is too busy himself to meet with the Great Lakes governors – or their “designees” -- so the White House asked Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, to meet with them “the first week of February.” And meet not at the White House, mind you, but somewhere “either in the Midwest or in Washington, D.C.” Evidently, all the conference rooms at the White House are booked for the first week in February. If you think we’re making this up, read the following paragraph from Nancy Sutley’s White House press release...

Ms. Sutley wrote: “I would like to suggest a meeting during the first week of February, either in the Midwest or in Washington D.C., with you and your fellow Great Lakes Governors or your designees, to discuss the strategy to combat the spread of Asian carp and ensure coordination and the most effective response across all levels of government to respond to this threat.”

Steve Ringo (l) and John Taylor (r), meeting with CEQ Chairwoman Nancy Sutley about protecting the environment in the Louisiana bayous last October.

Nancy Sutley’s council has been tasked by the White House to lead the “Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force” to investigate matters effecting the nation’s lakes and ocean fronts and meet with concerned citizens.

Alarm Bells Have Been Ringing

For months BoatTEST.com has been ringing the alarm bell about the impending Asian Carp disaster along with environmental and groups representing Great Lakes anglers – with no result. So much for the power of the press. And, so much for the cries of concerned citizens.

Mayor Daley demonstrating what a Asian carp mouth looks like when it is feeding. (Obviously the good mayor likes to point his finger no matter who he is talking to.)

In fact, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has been ringing the alarm bell since at least 2002 – for 8 years. In October 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received a petition signed by 25 members of Congress representing the Great Lakes region to add bighead, silver and black (Mylopharyngodon piceus) carp (referred to collectively as Asian carp) to the list of “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act. (The F&W codified the Lacey Act Asian carp import ban in July, 2007.)

Since 2003, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service has repeatedly said that the route to the Great Lakes of the Asian carp would be through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

(Interested parties should check out what the U.S. F&W Service says...)

Army Corps to the Rescue

The Army Corps of Engineers put up its first electric fence in 2004 on an “experimental” basis, then instituted it in 2006. We are told that the Corps is only putting a moderate amount of juice into a one-mile stretch of the canal, and could be putting in a far more powerful electric shock, but is afraid it might hurt commercial and recreational vessels.

Members of the U.S. Congress have known about the problem for the last 30 years as the Asian carp have been making their way up from Arkansas, where they were introduced, up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Finally, just last week U.S. Congressman Dave Camp from Michigan introduced a bill into the House to close two Chicago locks.

Despite what Mayor Daley says, Asian carp can be boney and tough, as President Obama found out with this fried carp stick.

The fact is that the U.S. Congress and government typically don’t do anything about an impending national disaster until it is too late, if even then. If you are like us, you don’t want to see the Great Lakes turned into one giant Asian carp fish farm. So what do WE do now?

This photo was taken before Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (l) was impeached. Have you ever wondered how such a guy could be elected governor of the country’s fourth largest state? Note Mayor Daley (r) is grabbing his right finger to keep it from pointing.

YOU BE THE JUDGE!

Please give us your best advice as to what America’s – and Canada’s – boaters can do stop the Asian carp invasion of the Great Lakes. Once we hear your answer, BoatTEST.com will try to organize boaters in that direction.

Vote only once, please (this isn’t Chicago!). To see the consensus of your peers, click on ["View Result."]

Please give us alternative suggestions for positive and legal action to close the locks...