By Todd Richmond, Associated Press

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — Wildlife officials across the Great Lakes are looking for spies to take on an almost impossible mission: stop the spread of invasive carp.

Over the last five years, agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have employed a new seek-and-destroy strategy that uses turncoat carp to lead them to the fish’s hotspot hideouts.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

Thirteen years ago, a live bighead carp was caught within swimming distance of Lake Michigan.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

The first efforts to stop the advance of invasive carp to the Great Lakes began in the early 2000s when electrical barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System leading to Lake Michigan were thought to be a deterrent.

The fear was that if the voracious carp entered the lake, they could expand their range, wipe out the food supply and eventually devastate the multi-billion dollar Great Lakes fishery.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

For Elizabeth Kolbert, the path to writing a book on our penchant to control nature started with a guided tour on the infamously reversed Chicago River.

Kolbert wanted to get a close look at the Asian carp issue and talk to the people on the front lines of efforts to repel the carp advance to the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

When we think of our cherished dogs, most of us don’t easily make a connection to environmental policy or protecting the Great Lakes.

But that’s the path Traverse City’s Dave Dempsey followed in his latest book release, Half Wild: People, Dogs and Environmental Policy.

The premise of the book examines our tendency to engage in binary thinking on protecting the environment and the Great Lakes, much like dogs who are domesticated but retain long-ingrained wild tendencies.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

By John Flesher, Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — You’re in the mood for fish and your server suggests a dish of invasive carp. Ugh, you might say. But how about broiled copi, fresh from the Mississippi River?

Here’s the catch: They’re the same thing.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

The project to construct a new Soo Lock has been fully funded as of Wednesday, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which included $479 million directed to the new lock.

“In Michigan, we know how vital the Locks are to our economy and our national defense,” Sen.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Minnesota state Sen. Foung Hawj was never a fan of the “Asian carp” label commonly applied to four imported fish species that are wreaking havoc in the U.S. heartland, infesting numerous rivers and bearing down on the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Brandon Chew, Great Lakes Echo

More fishing trips could cause more damage to native fish populations in the Canadian portion of the Great Lakes than aquatic invasive species, according to a recent study.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.