Mayor Daley took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal this week to deliver an important message on fish.
In a nutshell: Chicago didn’t bring Asian Carp to the United States, so back off.
The mayor defended the city against numerous, vigorous critics who think that Chicago’s waterways should be shut down in order to stop the dreaded carp from reaching the Great Lakes.
Considering the history of the Asian carp in the U.S., no one should accept the notion that the governments and their citizens who happen to reside closest to Lake Michigan should be forced to assume all the responsibility for this problem, or take on the environmental and economic costs associated with solving it,” Daley wrote in the Op-Ed.
The opinion piece was a clear shot toward the governors of Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota -- and others – who have sued to force Chicago’s waterways to be shut down.
First, this action will not stop the advancement of the carp. Second, it will impact 700,000 boaters and tourists, and nearly seven million tons of goods that pass through the locks on an annual basis. Finally, it ignores the fact that this waterway is just one of a large number of passageways by which invasive species enter the Great Lakes.
The canal system in question—built 70 years before the Asian carp were brought to the U.S.—is an essential part of the region's storm-water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as our commercial and recreational navigation network. The complexity of this system means that you cannot simply flip a switch and declare it closed.
Bravo, Mr. Mayor.
