U.S. Senate supports including lock closure in the 2013 Water Resources Development Act

Last week an amendment introduced by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar to fight Asian carp passed the Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The amendment, cosponsored by Senator Al Franken, would close the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock within a year to help stop the spread of the invasive species.

Asian carp not only pose a serious threat to Minnesotas environment, they also threaten the recreation and fishing industries that play a key role in the states economy, Klobuchar said last Thiursday after the vote. Todays action is a significant step forward to help the state take action to protect Minnesotas waterways so we can keep this invasive species from wreaking havoc on our lakes and rivers.

The passage of this amendment in the Senate is a giant leap forward in an otherwise slow process, said Whitney Clark, FMR executive director. Senator Klobuchar deserves high praise for her leadership on this issue. Now we just need to see the same kind of leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The closure of the St. Anthony Falls lock would prevent Asian Carp from passing upstream of Minneapolis and would effectively protect all those rivers and lakes that connect to the Mississippi above that point.

Klobuchar also co-sponsored an additional amendment to WRDA, introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), to help create a coordinated and strategic federal response to the Asian carp threat, enabling the federal government to work more effectively with state and local entities to help fight the spread of the invasive species in waterways around the country.

To date, much of the federal governments efforts have been focused on preventing the spread of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes, leaving major U.S. river systems out of the equation. If the Brown amendment becomes law with passage of the WRDA, federal resources can be put towards protecting the Upper Mississippi River from the Asian Carp invasion before it is too late.

"The spread of Asian carp in Minnesota's lakes and rivers would prove disastrous for our fishing, boating, and tourism industries, which support thousands of jobs and contribute billions of dollars to our state's economy," said Sen. Franken. "I'm very pleased the Senate approved this measure because we must control and prevent the further spread of Asian carp in the streams and rivers in our state."

Although several federal agencies have been working to combat Asian carp, none has been designated as the lead agency to coordinate the federal response with state and local partners in the Ohio and Upper Mississippi River Basins.

Under the Brown amendment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will establish a new federal multi-agency effort that includes the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Army Corps of Engineers. These agencies would provide high-level technical assistance, coordination, best practices, and other means of support to state and local governments that are working to protect economies and ecosystems in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River basin from Asian carp.

Browns Strategic Response to Asian Carp Invasion Act has also been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Betty McCollum, and is co-sponsored by most members of the Minnesota delegation. The Minnesota Conservation and River Protection Act (which calls for closing Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock) was re-introduced by Rep. Ellison earlier this year, but has yet to move forward in the U.S. House as a stand-alone bill or as an amendment to WRDA.