Great Lakes Attorneys General Ask Other States to Help Combat Federal Government, Invasive Species

File this one in the “Why didn’t we think of this before?” folder.

But better late than never, and I applaud attorneys general in the Great Lakes states for taking this action.

They are soliciting support from 25 other states that have been harmed by invasive species spreading out of the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi River. They are asking them to join in demanding immediate action by the federal government to develop a permanent ecological separation between the two ecosystems at Chicago.

By the way, the connection was made decades ago so that Chicago could flush its sewage downstream, instead of allowing it to pollute their water supply in Lake Michigan. Defenders of the connection, including the Obama administration, now insist that it must be maintained for  commercial navigation.

“We have Asian carp coming into Lake Michigan and zebra mussels moving out of the Great Lakes and into the heart of our country, both of which are like poison to the ecology of our waters,” said Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. 

“This is not just a Great Lakes issue, it is a national issue.  By working together we hope to put pressure on the federal government to act before it’s too late.”

Read more here.