Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Joins Attorneys General from 16 Other States in Requesting Federal Action by Congress to Control Invasive Species

“The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has recognized the threat but stopped short of providing much needed relief, and that's why I urge Congressional leaders to take the next necessary step to ensure Wisconsin's ecosystems and economy, and those of other states, are protected.”

MADISON — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has announced he's joining the Attorneys General of 16 other states in a letter to the U.S. Congress, urging members to block the continued spread of damaging invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins.

The coalition of Attorneys General believes a permanent ecological separation at Chicago is necessary to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species, which travel in the ballast water of vessels and spread through the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River by way of Chicago-area waterways.

“Immediate federal action is needed to halt the spread of invasive species,” Attorney General Van Hollen said. “The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has recognized the threat but stopped short of providing much needed relief, and that's why I urge Congressional leaders to take the next necessary step to ensure Wisconsin's ecosystems and economy, and those of other states, are protected.”

Earlier this month, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen testified before the Wisconsin legislature's Assembly Committee on Natural Resources about the serious economic and environmental threat to Wisconsin and the Great Lakes posed by the non-native Asian Carp.

The testimony came shortly after a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The Seventh Circuit's decision affirmed a federal district court ruling that had denied Wisconsin and other plaintiff states a preliminary injunction to stop the migration of Asian carp into the Great Lakes.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has discovered Asian carp in the Wisconsin River below the Prairie du Sac Dam and Asian carp DNA in the St. Croix River.

A copy of the letter to members of Congress is available at the following link: