February 12, 2001

   Ontario's Natural Resources Minister John Snobelen expressed mixed reaction to the release of Annex 2001, a proposed amendment to the Great Lakes Charter of 1985. The Annex was released by the Great Lakes states’ governors.
   "Elements of the Annex 2001 are certainly a step forward in strengthening the Great Lakes Charter," Snobelen said. Annex 2001 would retain water management authority in the Great Lakes Basin, establish a common standard to review proposed water uses, and strengthen information as the foundation for decision-making.
   While pleased that Annex 2001 seeks to promote conservation and careful use within the basin, Snobelen pointed out that two provisions related to diverting water could result in negative effects on the Great Lakes. 

"We need to make sure that the cumulative results of small-scale diversions are

considered," Snobelen said. "Ontario continues to support the approach of the IJC that there be

no net loss of water from the basin." The IJC also calls on the provinces and Great Lakes states not to permit any removal of water from the Great Lakes Basin that would endanger the integrity of the basin ecosystem.   

   Ontario is a signatory to the Great Lakes Charter and has demonstrated critical leadership through a Water Taking and Transfer Regulation that prohibits the transfer of water out of the Great Lakes Basin.
   To submit your comments: cglg@cglg.org , fax 312-407-0038, or by mail: Annex 2001 Comments, Council of Great Lakes Governors, 35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1850, Chicago, IL 60601, or Natural Resources Minister John Snobelen, minister@mnr.gov.on.ca , fax 416-314-2450, or by mail: Annex 2001 Comments, Ontario Minister of Natural Resources, 6th Floor, Room 6641, Whitney Block, 99 Wellesley Street West, Toronto, ON M7A 1W3

WASHINGTON — Fish biologists have plenty to worry about with three species of Asian carp, the bighead, silver and grass carp, flourishing in the Mississippi and its tributaries. They were imported for weed control, and then escaped and bred in the wild, where they're muscling native fish out of food.
   Now fisheries chiefs are concerned about the arrival of another exotic species?the black carp, a voracious fish that grows to 4 feet long and possesses yet another hunger. The black carp eat mollusks, such as clams and snails, many of them rare and bordering on extinction. The black carp, which is native to Asia, is used here by fish farmers to control mollusks, some of which carry a parasite that can kill farm-raised fish.
   Fisheries officials say the fish could escape from farm ponds into rivers, threatening some species of snails and mollusks with extinction.
Worried about their waters, fisheries chiefs from Missouri and 25 other states in the Mississippi River basin petitioned the USFWS this year to declare the black carp "injurious wildlife." That designation would prevent its importation and transfer across state lines, and therefore go a long way to prevent its spread. The chiefs want to act before the black carp spreads from ponds into the Mississippi and other rivers.
   But to fish farmers, the black carp is a beautiful species. The black carp devours snails that carry a deadly parasite known as yellow grub that afflicts farm ponds from Missouri south to Mississippi where catfish and other species are raised. Fish farmers are protesting the potential ban all the way to Washington, and those complaints already have resulted in a casualty: the federal coordinator for state fisheries in the Midwest.
In August, FWS abolished the job of Jerry Rasmussen, a federal employee who has worked for a decade as the coordinator of the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resources Association (MICRA). The organization consists of the state fisheries heads of 28 states, including Missouri and Illinois. State fisheries chiefs are dismayed by the sudden departure of Rasmussen, a 25-year FWS employee who, by all accounts, has been 

extraordinarily helpful to Missouri and other states. Missouri fisheries administrator Norm 

Stucky said last week that Rasmussen's departure "is of great concern to us. He was an outstanding coordinator."   

   Officials at USFWS are tight-lipped about what happened to Rasmussen. But there's little question that he was removed because of his outspoken concerns about the black carp and his assistance to states making a case to ban it. Rasmussen may have been prophetic when he wrote last spring in River Crossings, the state resource association's newsletter, of the battle lines forming in the black carp battle. "Those who support the use of black carp are busy lobbying their congressmen. . . . Those who are opposed will have to do the same. Unfortunately, the former are driven by investments and profits and the latter by concern for public interest. The public interest usually doesn't win those battles."
   Mike Freeze, co-owner of Keo Fish Farms, in Keo, Ark., raises them to sell. If you live in Arkansas, Mississippi or one of the states that has no restrictions, you can order fingerling black carp for about $1.75 in bulk and foot-long fish for $4.25. Freeze, who also sits on the seven-member Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, has been a leader on behalf of fish farmers in fighting the proposed black carp ban.
   Freeze complained about the role of Rasmussen, which led to a meeting July 24 in Washington on the issue that apparently sealed Rasmussen's fate. The meeting, which took place in the office of Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., included USFWS Director Jamie Clark, Freeze, and other Arkansans. At that meeting, according to one participant, Clark declared that Rasmussen would no longer be involved in the black carp issue. Five days later, Rasmussen was told of that decision. In August, after complaining in e-mails about being muzzled, FWS said that Rasmussen had a conflict of interest and removed him from heading the multi-state fisheries group. He was reassigned elsewhere in the agency as a staff biologist.
To date, 77 species of freshwater mussels and snails have become extinct in North America. 

PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 21) — The city's lawsuit against gun makers to recoup the costs resulting from gun violence was negated by an earlier state law, said a judge who dismissed the suit. A 1995 law and an amendment four years later stripped Philadelphia and other municipalities of the power to either regulate or sue gun makers, U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller said. The authority to regulate firearms 

   In what is sure to spark another round of legal action in the "City of Brotherly Love," the city council recently passed a new gun registration law requiring residents with firearm permits to submit annually a list of all the guns they own. Observers note that state law preempts municipal governments from attempting to regulate firearms ownership, and a legal challenge to the new ordinance is sure to follow. The city has twice before attempted to enact gun controls that were subsequently overruled by the courts.

Canada's turnout falls to record low of  60.5%
  OTTAWA — Canada's chief electoral officer says Parliament might have to pass a law requiring citizens to vote if turnout falls any lower than it was in last month's federal election. Jean-Pierre Kingsley made his comments after releasing revised figures that show voter turnout for the Nov. 27 election was barely 60%, the lowest in Canada's history.
   While he finds the idea of a law compelling citizens to vote "repugnant," he said it might be needed if the participation rate continues to decline. "So far, I didn't think it was necessary, 

but if we start dipping below 60%, I'm going to 

have to change my mind," he said in an interview. Asked if he would support mandatory voting, he replied: "If the participation rate continues to drop, yes.   

   "Sometimes, in order to save democracy, you have to do things that might seem to run a little bit against it, but I certainly like the idea of voting freely, as opposed to ... being required to do it by law." A study published last year in the Canadian Parliamentary Review, showed the participation rate in Australia, where voting is mandatory, is 94%.