Standing on a breezy bridge in Joliet, Illinois, Scott Whitney isn’t just testing the wind; he’s unveiling a fortress of aquatic defense. Meet the “gauntlet,” a strategically engineered, half-mile-long underwater obstacle course designed to thwart invasive carp from breaching further into Lake Michigan. These fish are no ordinary foes—they threaten the vibrant $5.1 billion Great Lakes fishing industry. Whitney, from the US Army Corps of Engineers, spearheads this audacious project set to commence in January, backed by over a billion-dollar investment. It’s a high-stakes battle to preserve a critical ecosystem.
Is a billion dollars too much to spend to hold back a fish? Perhaps the better question is what does it cost if we don’t. Bloomberg has the full story. In North Dakota, the emerald ash borer and the zebra mussel are just two species creating parallel concerns.
