Lake Erie

The Great Lakes are a natural wonder of the world and are a resource for us to use and protect. They contain 20% of the world’s freshwater supply and 95% of the U.S. fresh surface water. To put that into perspective, if we poured out the Great Lakes over the United States of America they would fill up the Grand Canyons and put all Americans under 9 feet of water.

Lake Erie, Ohio’s Great Lake, is the key to millions of Ohioans health, economic vitality, and recreation. Learn more.

A report recently published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research debunks all the myths that the Asian carp barrier is sufficiently efficient and Asian carp, bighead and silver cap, cannot thrive in the Great Lakes, while calling for the physical separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

Report: Great Lakes-Mississippi River Separation is Possible, Practical, and Preventive. Read press release

Read the OEC's Fact Sheet on Asian Carp.

On August 31, the Attorney Generals from Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin sent a letter to Attorney Generals of 27 additional states in the Mississippi River basin asking them to urge their Congressional members to enact the Stop Asian Carp Act (House Resolution 892/Senate Bill 471).

The Stop Asian Carp Act directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to speed up their study on how to hydrologically separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. Asian carp do not just threaten the Great Lakes. They pose a significant threat to all of Ohio's waterways and our fishing and tourism industry.

Take action now! Tell Congress to pass the Stop Asian Carp Act now!

View the presentations for the latest LaMP Public Forum.

There are currently 185 known invasive species established in the Great Lakes. What’s worse is that a new potentially devastating new critter arrives approximately every 28 weeks. The introduction of these species can damage the Lake Erie Basin economy, the Lake Erie ecosystem, and the experience of Lake Erie visitors. Congress has manageable solutions to this problem, it is time they use them.

Imagine a shoreline off limits to children building sand castles, learning how to fish, bird watching, or collecting shells. If some privileged shoreline owners have their way, roughly 11 million Ohioans will no longer have the rights which they have had for more than 200 years, to enjoy the Lake Erie shoreline.