I was pleased to get the following from Doug Luciani, of the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce. It is good to see the business community get behind this issue, as they absolutely should:
- Imagine a trip to the Manitou Islands while dodging 50-pound flying fish.
- Imagine your favorite fishing hole as a barren, fish-free dead zone.
- Imagine the elimination of thousands of fishery jobs and the evaporation of a $7 billion industry in a time when Michigan cannot afford further attrition.
If the locks in Chicago are not closed immediately, the hyper-aggressive invasive Asian Carp will make their way into Lake Michigan, destroying the Great Lakes’ cherished ecology and costing thousands of jobs in the region’s $7 billion fishery.
There is one simple solution to a multitude of very complex, complicated, and devastating problems: close the Chicago locks which provide the invasive carp a direct, wide-open path into Lake Michigan and the rest of the Great Lakes.
Two simple things you can do right now to help the Great Lakes ecology and economy:
- Sign the online petition to close the locks at www.stopasiancarp.com.
- Attend rallies, such as the one being held at the Traverse City Fish Ladder on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 11 a.m. to encourage Federal action to close the locks in Chicago to prevent the destruction of the Great Lakes ecology and $7 billion fishery economy.
Legislators representing our region in Lansing and Washington are fighting this battle in court and through legislation, but they need your help and they need to know that you care deeply about the health of the Great Lakes and Michigan’s economy.
If you have further questions, visit www.stopasiancarp.com or your contact your local legislator.
Way to go, Doug!
