LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Asian carp are a threat to all Ohioans

4/27/2014

I commend Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey for describing the growing threat of Asian carp in the Great Lakes region (“Asian carp fears flow from Ohio to Great Lakes,” April 22).

Ohio relies on the Great Lakes for jobs, fishing, and tourism, which provide billions of dollars in economic stimulus. More than $10 billion of the state’s nearly $40 billion tourism industry is derived from counties along the Lake Erie shoreline.

To protect Ohio jobs and the chemical, biological, and physical integrity of the Great Lakes, we must prevent an invasion of Asian carp. I have long believed that the best way to protect the Great Lakes is to separate them physically from the Mississippi River basin.

Last month, I was joined by 10 Senate colleagues in urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work aggressively toward enacting short-term measures and finding a long-term solution that would stop the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes.

This would build on the amendment I passed last year that would enable the federal government to have a more-effective partnership with state and local entities that are working to slow the spread of Asian carp.

Mr. Markey’s article highlighted the importance of Lake Erie for all Ohioans. We need to work together and remain dedicated to combating this threat. The future of the Great Lakes and the jobs of thousands of hard-working Ohioans are at stake.

SHERROD BROWN

U.S. Senate Washington