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After hearing a brief overview of where efforts stand to hydrologically separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River systems as a means to stop the Asian carp we will dive into the outreach coordinated by environmental organizations that resulted in bringing the voice of thousands of citizens to decision makers calling for their action and how it is making a difference. This will also be an opportunity to learn about upcoming opportunities to keep pressure on decision makers. Freshwater Future and the Alliance for the Great Lakes will be hosting this session.
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o Where Are The Critters Now?
o Congress Takes Action (Really!)
o How You and Your Friends Made It Happen
o A New Coalition To Support Separation
Congress passes Stop Asian Carp Act; Obama signs July 6, 2012o Corps reports to Congress 1st week of October
o Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study to be completed by early January 2014
Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans Releases Comprehensive Risk Assessment in July
o Confirms substantial risk to Great Lakes should Asian carp invade, even in low numbers
o Closes the book on questions of potential harm
Keep In Mind
o Complete Separation Will Take Years, So We Need More, Better, Faster in the Interim
o 39 High Risk Species Between Great Lakes and Mississippi River
o Regional Unity and Expanding Our Base of Support Is More Critical Than Ever
Great Lakes Restoration ConferenceEngaging Great Lakes Citizens to Stop Asian Carp
Melanie Napoleon WelchAssociate Director
melanie@freshwaterfuture.org
Michigan Sea Grant
Josh Mogerman
ObjectivesObjectives
•To give people concerned about Asian carp an opportunity to engage in a larger effort to stop them
•To demonstrate constituent support for separating the Mississippi and Great Lakes systems to decision makers
Public EngagementPublic Engagement• Freshwater Future - Developed and
organized the post card campaign, recorded data and delivered the post cards in D.C. Put together information packets for Member meetings including a list of signatures that came out of each district.
• Alliance for the Great Lakes - Sent invitations for the Congressional briefing and lined up speakers.
• Great Lakes United - Organized meetings with Members of Congress and helped to identify Congressional districts from the post card data.
• HOW - Made on-the-ground arrangements for the Congressional briefing and the meeting with the Asian Carp Director.
Public EngagementPublic Engagement
•In 2010 over 11,000 post cards and over 2,000 petition signatures were delivered to the White House
Public EngagementPublic Engagement
•In 2011, we continued the effort and delivered another 10,000 post cards
Public EngagementPublic Engagement• Freshwater Future worked with
63 sport fishing, marina, charter fishing, and faith based organizations to distribute post cards to their constituents.
• Organized 12 groups around the region to meet, for the most part, in-district and deliver the post cards with our message.
• Submitted several Op-Eds around the region to raise awareness of what needs to get done.
OutcomesOutcomes
Josh Mogerman
•Increased co-sponsorship of the Stop Asian Carp Act of 2011
•Stop Invasive Species Act was signed into law Summer 2012
What’s Next?What’s Next?
•Local resolutions to help build even more support
•Social media action site – freshwaterfutureaction.org
Melanie Napoleon Welch, melanie@freshwaterfuture.org
Cheryl Kallio, cheryl@freshwaterfuture.org
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
ASIAN CARP & ILLINOIS
Robert HirschfeldWater Resources Specialist
Prairie Rivers Network
HEALTHY WATER SOLUTIONS
Building an Illinois Coalitionhealthywatersolutions.org
WHY AN ILLINOIS COALITION?
•Different strategy, message needed for Illinois stakeholders
•Important for Illinois citizens to make opinion heard
•Ability to target levers of power within state
•Facts on the ground are quite different
It’s too late for Illinois.*
*We don’t believe this and we’re not giving up the fight. Nevertheless . . .
Perception vs. Reality
WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH?
Moving beyond regional conflict
Making Illinois a willing partner
Highlight win-win-win scenario*
*This has to be about more than Asian carp
TEN GOOD REASONS(besides carp)
TO SEPARATE1. Dozens of other invasive species2. Clean water3. Flood management4. Jobs/Commerce5. Tourism6. Recreation7. Aesthetics8. Responsibility9. Pride10. $$$$$$
GOOD NEWS•Illinois does care about carp
•57% of Chicagoans support a permanent barrier
•Support for barrier at 77% if other environmental, infrastructure problems are solved concurrently
•Bigger than carp, bigger than Chicago, bigger than Illinois
•Illinois wants to engage, will need support of region, nation
HEALTHY WATER SOLUTIONS
Building an Illinois Coalitionhealthywatersolutions.org
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