Sen. Stabenow Statement Following Discovery of Positive Asian Carp eDNA Samples in Western Lake Erie

Press Release

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, author of the Stop Invasive Species Act that was recently signed into law by President Obama, made the following statement after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that 20 out of 150 samples taken throughout the Sandusky Bay and Sandusky River tested positive for Asian carp eDNA. This announcement follows last month's discovery of six positive samples of Asian carp eDNA taken from Lake Erie. The six positive hits were the first samples of Asian carp eDNA found within the Great Lakes.

"Temporary fixes have proven inadequate, with evidence of this dangerous invasive species now being detected in the Great Lakes. This alarming discovery once again underscores the need for action to stop Asian carp and other invasive species from devastating our Great Lakes and the hundreds of thousands of Michigan jobs that depend on them. The new law I authored with Congressman Camp requires much quicker action to prevent the destruction of the Great Lakes ecosystem, which is critical to our Michigan way of life."

The Stop Invasive Species Act, written by Sen. Stabenow and Congressman Dave Camp, was recently signed into law by President Obama. The bipartisan law requires the expedited creation of a plan to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes through a number of rivers and tributaries across the Great Lakes region. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is required to submit to Congress an expedited action plan with options for stopping Asian carp from penetrating the Great Lakes across 18 possible points of entry. The law requires the Army Corps to submit a progress report to Congress and the President within 90 days of the law's enactment. The full plan would need to be completed within 18 months, meaning the Corps would have to complete its work in 2013, a full two years faster than the Corps had originally planned to act.

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