Have Asian Carp arrived at Lake Calumet? Photos by Gregory Tejeda |
FROM
WHICH, IF they really have made it that far along the path, only now have to swim
upstream through the Calumet River for about seven miles through Chicago’s
South Side and will then be in Lake Michigan proper.
The
Asian Carp, who initially were released accidentally into the Mississippi River
somewhere down near New Orleans have managed to make it up across the nation,
and across our state through the Illinois River and could now be about to take
over the lake that is pride and joy to our Chicago.
Which,
of course, will have many people eager to blame Chicago for letting the Asian
Carp loose – even though one could claim it was the ineptitude of those who
initially let the Carp loose down south who are truly to blame.
From Lake Calumet mouth to Calumet River … |
But
the reality is that there’s nothing that can be done to undo the damage in the mighty
Mississippi. But we can still hope that our officials can act in ways to bar
them from Lake Michigan.
SO
WHAT’S THE big deal about the Asian Carp? The fact is that the Asian Carp feed
on anything and everything in their paths.
In
doing so, they’ll devastate the ecosystems of whatever water supply they manage
to get to. In a sense, everything that is alive and thriving now in Lake
Michigan could wind up becoming barren, if the Carp make it that far.
And
the reality is, we may well find there’s nothing we really can do to stop the Asian
Carp from making the final stretch of their journey to Lake Michigan and all
the other Great Lakes.
and up the river, past the Chicago Skyway bridge |
NOW
IT SHOULD be noted that the Asian Carp proper have not been found in Lake
Calumet itself. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said last week that traces
of DNA from Asian Carp have been found in the lake’s water.
The
Chicago Tribune reported that the DNA could consist of evidence of skin cells,
secretions and feces (just think, fish poop), and that those substances could well
have been in the bilge water of the ships that pass through the area – if not
the Asian Carp themselves.
Too bad the Asian Carp can't read signs! |
It
could be just genetic junk, and not the fish themselves that have made the
lengthy journey from down south. Which means that rather than blaming Chicago
for letting the Carp into the Great Lakes, we ought to be thinking in terms of
whether or not Chicago will be “heroic” enough to prevent the trip from being
completed.
I
suppose we’re now on the lookout for the Asian Carp, which have been sited by
the T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam – located just south of the lake – to see if they’ve
made it a few miles farther north to the lake proper, then well on their way to
the “big” lake itself.
IT
WILL BE intriguing to see what kind of last-ditch measures our federal and state
officials (Gov. J.B. Pritzker has written to the Army Corps of Engineers
offering whatever assistance the state can provide) can concoct to try to keep
the Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes.
Will
we see some new sort of technology devised to try to barricade off Lake Michigan?
Or are we destined to see the same kind of electronic barricades erected at the
mouth of the Calumet River headed into the lake as one last-ditch attempt to
kill off any sort of creatures?
Will the Asian Carp be reminiscent of Godzilla films? |
It
makes me wonder if we’re destined for some sort of story in our future
resembling the old Godzilla movies – with the Asian Carp being a threat to our
ecological well-being and threatening Chicago similar to the way the cinematic
dragon-like creature used to terrorize Tokyo!
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