Michigan Sues to Stop the Fishes

Cox is also running for governor

Talk about absurd.

The state of Michigan is suing the State of Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago over fish.

The Attorney General of Michicgan is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to order closure of shipping locks near Chicago to prevent Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

AG Mike Cox, who's also running for governor, filed a lawsuit Monday with the nation's highest court. It says the ravenous carp would threaten thousands of jobs if they get into the lakes -- even though the suckers can't be found by scientists.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District spokeswoman Jill Horist called the lawsuit "unfortunate," and said it won't bring a solution any sooner.
      
"It's unfortunate that there would be an assumption that this would make some positive resolution come sooner than is truly feasible," Horist said. "Even if the locks were closed there's still a variety of ways for DNA or Asian carp to enter Lake Michigan."

A spokeswoman says Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office is reviewing the lawsuit and has no comment for now.

Bighead and silver carp from Asia have been migrating northward in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers for decades. They have been detected in canals and rivers south of Chicago that open into Lake Michigan.

Officials poisoned a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal this month to prevent the carp from getting closer to Lake Michigan while an electrical barrier was taken down for maintenance.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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