U.S. Army Corps of Engineers accepting comments for Minnesota Aquatic Nuisance Species Pathway Reports

The U.S Army Corps of Engineers is accepting comments for Minnesota Aquatic Nuisance Species Pathway Reports, released today.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 25, 2012

Contact: Lynn Greer 716-879-4260
Lynn.m.greer@usace.army.mil

CHICAGO - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) today released for public comment two draft Aquatic Pathway Assessment Reports for Swan River and Libby Branch of Swan River in Minnesota that evaluate key evidence to estimate the likelihood of an aquatic pathway forming and the possibility of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) using it to reach the adjacent basin.

“Though the reports indicate both pathways have a low probability for movement of ANS, we remain vigilant in our task of aquatic nuisance species prevention and recommend the results from all of the pathway assessments, regardless of their overall viability rating, be evaluated and taken into consideration by the appropriate federal, state, or local resource agencies,” said USACE Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) Program Manager Jack Drolet.

Comments will be accepted beginning Sept.25, 2012. The comment period will close 30 days later on Oct. 25, 2012. Comments may be submitted electronically at www.glmris.anl.gov or mailed to GLMRIS Focus Area 2, Summary Report Comments, 1776 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14207-3199. The reports will be available for download on the GLMRIS website at www.glmris.anl.gov.

USACE will host a stakeholder conference call Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 at 10 a.m. (Central) to answer questions regarding the Minnesota reports. Call-in information is USA Toll-Free: 877- 336-1839, USA Caller Paid/International Toll: 636-651-0008, Access Code: 8506361, Security Code: 0000.

The overall objective of the Focus Area 2 portion of GLMRIS is to produce an interim report for each potential aquatic pathway found between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. These reports are the next step in a tiered approach to assess the probability associated with the spread of ANS between the basins.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District 111 N. Canal, Ste. 600 Chicago, IL. 60606 http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/ and http://www.glmris.anl.gov

GLMRIS: Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/glmris and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/glmris Chicago District: Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/usacechicago on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usacechicago and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/chicagousace

Additional reports focusing on potential pathways in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania will be released over the next few months, as they are completed.

USACE will review and incorporate public input before finalizing and re-issuing the reports in winter 2012.

Geogrphical representation of other potential aquatic pathways located between the Great Lakes Basin and Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Basins.