8/9/2019 Fact Sheet: Wabash River Panic

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Fact Sheet:

Evidence of Asian Carp in Wabash River Cause forUnnecessary Panic

Background:

In recent weeks the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) hasconfirmed the discovery of a new Asian Carp spawning bed in northern

Indianas Wabash River, near Logansport. The location is approximately 120

miles of flood plain and wetlands that connects the Wabash River to the

Maumee River, which ultimately drains into Lake Erie.

The response to this new discovery has been one of unnecessary panic.

Reports that Asian carp are close to entering Lake Erie are completelyinaccurate. Advocates for lock closures on the Chicago Area Waterway

System are using this discovery to support their own agenda.

The Facts:

Recently Asian Carp have been found in various Wabash River locations,none of which present a threat of entering the Great Lakes. In order to reach

Lake Erie the Asian carp would have to:

1. Breach the J.E Roush Lake Dam- a 91 foot high wall that was build tohelp control flooding in the Wabash River Basin, lower Wabash and

Ohio River.

2. Swim to the end of the Wabash River where the carp would then haveto be carried by floodwaters over the .5 mile stretch of wetlands

between the Wabash and Maumee River. Under normal conditions,

there is no direct link between the Wabash and Maumee Rivers.

However, tributaries and drainage ditches in a floodplain near Fort

Wayne have the potential to connect under flood conditions.

3. Finally they would have travel through the floodplains in a largeenough number to establish a reproducing population in the Maumee

River that leads up to Lake Erie

8/9/2019 Fact Sheet: Wabash River Panic

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What is more, it is unlikely that Asian carp could successfully establish

sustainable populations in Lake Erie. There is no evidence that Asian carp willsuccessfully establish in Lake Erie since they are unable to reproduce withoutlong stretches of moving water found in rivers and there are insufficientlevels of plankton, Asian carps primary food source. (August 31, 2008, Evaluating

Asian Carp Colonization Potential and Impact in the Great Lakes, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant)

The discovery of small populations of Asian Carp in Great Lakes is not a newphenomenon. Since 1995 small groups of Asian Carp have been discovered inLake Erie.

o Asian Carp have been present in the Wabash River for at least 15years. The mouth of the Wabash River feeds to the Ohio River, whichin turn is a tributary to the Mississippi River. Asian Carp have beenmoving up these waterways since their accidental introduction inArkansas in the 1970s.(July 2, 2010. DNR lists facts on Asian Carp in WabashRiver. DNR News.)

o In 1999, Asian carp were found further up the Wabash. And justwithin the last year or so, they were found in other Wabash Riverlocations, though not in great concentrations. The farthest upstream

on the Wabash they've been is beneath the Roush Lake dam nearHuntington.(July 2, 2010.Asian Carp found spawning in Wabash, but IndianaDNR says Lake Erie threat theoretical.San Francisco Examiner)

Any drastic action in response to this theoretical threat sets a dangerousprecedent for other waterways in the Midwest region. Over reaction couldlead to closures of other waterways for fear of Asian Carp, which issomething the region cannot afford to sit and watch happen.

The Next Steps:

The lack of information and knowledge about the situation in the Wabash River is another

wake up call to lawmakers that a comprehensive multi-tiered solution is needed, not kneejerk reactions. The federal government needs to fully and thoroughly explore what wouldhappen to the region economically and environmentally if the locks were closed.

While more barriers and controls might be needed in the Wabash in the future, hasty actionis completely unwarranted. Illogical panic will only create further stagnation of the situationand hinder the ability to create a comprehensive solution. Commitment to a process inwhich all angles are completely exhausted and studied and a solution is created that willprotect the Great Lakes on all fronts is needed.