Michigan Renews Carp Fight

The state of Michigan is renewing its battle to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan. Attorney General Mike Cox announced on Thursday that the state is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its Jan. 19 decision that kept locks open on waterways in the Chicago area.

The Supreme Court denied Michigan’s petition to close the locks until a way could be found to prevent the migration of the destructive fish into the Great Lakes ecosystem.

The state of Illinois, with strong support of the American Waterways Operators, argued that closing the locks would cause some $190 million worth of economic harm by preventing barges from delivering freight to the Chicago area.

Cox said that Illionois “seriously exaggerated” its claim. According to a study by Wayne State University in Detroit, the annual costs of closing the waterways were less than $70 million. Michigan argues that letting the carp into Lake Michigan will cause some $1 billion in damage to the Great Lakes fishery.