SR8: Resolution Text

LRB-3979/1

SRM:bjk:md

2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE

2009 Senate RESOLUTION 8

December 16, 2009 - Introduced by Senators Miller, Plale, Wirch, Cowles, Lehman, Robson, Olsen, Lazich, Carpenter and Hansen. Referred to Committee on Senate Organization.

SR8,1,2 Relating to: urging and authorizing the attorney general to pursue every legal means available to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

SR8,1,5 Whereas, the state of Illinois constructed the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal over 100 years ago, connecting the Great Lakes Basin to the Mississippi River Basin in order to move Chicago's sewage away from Lake Michigan; and

SR8,1,8 Whereas, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, in addition to diverting billions of gallons of water from Lake Michigan each day, also opens a channel of communication between the lake and the lower Mississippi basin; and

SR8,1,11 Whereas, Asian carp, an invasive, non-native species, have migrated northward through the Mississippi River Basin, advancing as close as 20 miles from Lake Michigan; and

SR8,1,14 Whereas, an invasion of Asian carp into Lake Michigan would devastate native wildlife and cause incalculable economic loss and irreversible damage to recreational fishing on the Great Lakes and the resulting tourism industry; and

SR8,2,2 Whereas, the well-documented threat of invading Asian carp has been known to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state officials in Illinois for years; and

SR8,2,5 Whereas, the state of Illinois has constructed an inadequate and ineffective electric barrier to prevent Asian carp from migrating through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal; and

SR8,2,7 Whereas, much more aggressive measures must be taken to avert the impending ecological and economic disaster; and

SR8,2,9 Whereas, aggressive legal action will force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state of Illinois to act speedily and effectively; now, therefore, be it

SR8,2,13 Resolved by the senate, That pursuant to section 165.25 (1m) of the Wisconsin statutes, the senate urges and authorizes the attorney general to vigorously pursue every legal means available to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

SR8,2,14 (End)