MUCC signs onto a letter asking Congress for carp related appropriations
lschultz • March 25, 2019
Michigan United Conservation Clubs signed a letter asking Congress for specific appropriations to combat the threat of Asian carp. Having this funding will help to make the battle against Asian carp a targeted, national effort, rather than a state and local effort. These appropriations will help the Great Lakes as well as the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee and Cumberland River Basins.
The specific asks for funding included:
- Provide at least $3.8 million in FY2020 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin
pre-construction engineering and design of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam plan to help
keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes; - Provide at least $300 million in FY2020 for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that
will help Asian carp control actions - Increase the base budget of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission by at least $1 million so
that the Commission may facilitate a multi-jurisdictional effort to prevent invasive grass
carp from becoming established in the Great Lakes; - Provide at least $500,000 in FY2020 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete a
feasibility study to prevent two-way transfer of aquatic nuisance species, initiated with
the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS); - Provide at least $25 million in FY 2020 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to
undertake control actions to stop the spread of Asian carp throughout the Mississippi,
Ohio River and Tennessee Cumberland River basins; and - Provide at least $4.4 million to advance funding for each state Aquatic Nuisance Species
plan throughout the Mississippi River basin.
MUCC joined several other conservation organizations in signing the letter including National Wildlife Federation, Indiana Wildlife Federation, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Minnesota Conservation Federation, Iowa Wildlife Federation, Mississippi Wildlife Federation, Tennessee Wildlife Federation, Ohio Conservation Federation, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Prairie Rivers Network.
The post MUCC signs onto a letter asking Congress for carp related appropriations appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.
Recent Posts
The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) met for their May meeting today at Lansing Community College West Campus. The commission voted to return antlered opportunities to the Independence and Liberty hunts at the May Natural Resources Commission meeting. The amendment to restore this opportunity passed after Commissioner Walters withdrew his amendment from April to only partially restore antlered opportunity during these hunts. MUCC testified for the complete restoration of antlered opportunity during these two hunts, per a member passed policy from our 2025 Annual Convention. The commission also voted on, and ultimately accepted, a proposal to allow archery antlerless take in the high snowfall zone in the Upper Peninsula. Additionally, the commission also chose to leave on the table and postpone indefinitely the order to reopen the illegally partially closed coyote season. This prevents the order from dying after today's meeting and makes it eligible for action at a later date. This amendment will remain postponed until the June meeting at the earliest. MUCC has created the Coyote Coalition to assist in unifying the voice of conservationists in support of Proposal G. To join the Coyote Coalition, visit https://www.mucc.org/coyotecoalition . The commission did adopt proposed fall turkey regulations unanimously. The June commission meeting is Thursday, June 12 in Bay City. To ensure our natural resources remain protected and managed thoughtfully and our outdoor heritage defended, join Michigan United Conservation Clubs today: http://bit.ly/JoinMUCC .
In total, volunteers improved about 6 acres of habitat and planted around 6,000 trees in this stand to continue regeneration.
Our student volunteers have been hard at work improving wildlife habitat on public lands! MUCC’s On the Ground Junior (OTG Jr.) program, a subset of the On the Ground program, is a fully funded field trip program that brings grade-school classrooms into the outdoors to improve fish and wildlife habitat in their local communities. Through activities like native plantings, brush pile building, and invasive species removal, students gain hands-on experience with conservation and positively impact the world around them. Students also participate in educational activities like predator-prey tag to teach them about population dynamics and other natural resources concepts. So far this spring season, MUCC welcomed 69 students, teachers, and chaperones who participated in multiple OTG Jr projects with more on the way! In total, they improved over 12 acres of wildlife habitat. Read on for a recap of each OTG Jr project and see what all our awesome student volunteers have been up to.