Breakfast on the Marsh: The Carp Czar

​The three species of invasive Asian Carp in our waterways and fisheries are within 30 miles of Chicago. Yet, after years, they have not made it into the Great Lakes. This is good news because would they over-populate the Great Lakes, they would destroy a multibillion-dollar sports fishing industry, and they would devastate the ecosystems of the Great Lakes.
 
On July 11th, 2024, at Indiana Wesleyan University Fort Wayne, Little River Wetlands Project hosted the public forum, Breakfast on the Marsh. The speaker was LRWP board member John Goss. He answered so many questions such as:

• Why haven’t the carp made it into the Great lakes?
• What is a berm?
• Why was the continental divide at Eagle Marsh separated?
• Where is the most vulnerable area around the Great Lakes for the invasive carp to enter the Great Lakes?
• What is a Carp Czar?
• To be sure John Goss was the perfect person to make this presentation. The talk was in a classroom near the shores of Eagle Marsh, the berm, and the continental divide. John served as a White House Taskforce chair coordinating the efforts of eight states and three Canadian provinces addressing the invasive species.

 
John talked about the problems regionally and internationally (the U.S., and Canada), but he also addressed the important work LRWP is doing to protect the Great Lakes. He described the barrier system just outside of Chicago. He shared a video of the edible solutions that could help offset the damage the species have done to riverways and lakes.
 
The presentation was captivating. The work of our very own Carp Czar was inspiring. To be sure, the leadership at LRWP is pretty impressive.

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