Great Lakes region calls on Congress to maintain level funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in FY 2011. The Great Lakes region spoke with a unified voice this week in calling on Congress to maintain level funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in Fiscal Year 2011. In a letter sent to the Great Lakes Congressional Delegation, 14 regional Great Lakes agencies and organizations emphasized the progress being made in implementing the GLRI and its importance for creating jobs and revitalizing the regional economy.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has been investigating various locations in Ohio and assessing scenarios in which the aquatic invasive species', Silver carp and Bighead carp ("Asian carp") could possibly migrate into the Lake Erie Basin (LEB) from the Ohio River Basin (ORB) via natural and man-made waterways in Ohio. Investigations are underway to determine what, if any, natural waterways adjacent to the LEB-ORB basin divide have the potential for the headwaters from each basin to develop a cross-connection during flooding events.

Five states file new lawsuit against federal government to protect Great Lakes from Asian carp.  After the Supreme Court refused to hear the Great Lakes states’ dispute regarding Asian carp, the states have moved ahead with “Plan B” in the legal battle to protect the lakes from the invasive species threat – a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in federal district court.  Five states, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, filed their joint complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

As part of a multi-state effort called the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, ODNR is investigating possible hydraulic connections in Ohio between the Lake Erie and Ohio River watersheds that could pass AIS.  Governor Strickland has asked President Obama for help in the Asian carp fight.