Week of January 17, 2011
Rules on invasive species stall; delay may be costly By JIM LYNCH, The Detroit News A year after the Asian carp’s threat to the Great Lakes threw a national spotlight on invasive species, critics say no definitive action on the issue’s two key focal points has been made. Ballast water from oceangoing ships, considered the largest source of invasive species in the Great Lakes, remains largely unregulated. And the Mississippi River system, where the Asian carp is firmly entrenched, remains connected to the Great Lakes. While there has been progress on both issues behind the scenes, conservationists say the pace is unacceptable and leaves the Great Lakes playing a game of Russian roulette year after year. "Maybe another year or two of waiting doesn’t seem daunting, but if you get a new invasion of some species like zebra mussels that shows up in six months, then you could have a catastrophe on your hands," said Andy Buchsbaum, regional director of the National Wildlife Federatio...