Asian carp fight comes to DuPage County

The DuPage County Forest Preserve has entered the fray against the much-maligned Asian carp infestation that could threaten the Great Lakes.

Forest preserve commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday allowing the Army Corps of Engineers access to Centennial Trail, which abuts Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve near Darien, to build a fish barrier. The barrier constructed of mesh and concrete would theoretically prevent Asian carp from bypassing other barriers in the event of a Des Plaines River flood similar to one that occurred in 2008, forest preserve officials said.

This is the first foray into the Asian carp battle by a DuPage County entity. Ole Oldenburg, the district's director of natural resources, said there's no indication of any infestation in DuPage, but several tributaries are at risk if another flood occurs.

Oldenburg said none of Waterfall Glen's facilities will be closed because of the work being done, but Centennial Trail will be closed from April through October because of the barrier. The trail is located in the Des Plaines River floodplain.

Oldenburg said if the Des Plaines River floods, current barriers that prevent the fish from entering the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Illinois and Michigan Canal would be useless. If the fish get into those canals, there would be no way of stopping them from entering Lake Michigan. The DuPage barrier is part of a $78.5 million plan - basically fences being built throughout the floodplain - to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes.

The fish are ravenous eaters that devour plankton and interrupt the food chains in bodies of water where they are present, devastating valuable fisheries. It's estimated the Great Lakes generate $7 billion a year as a fishery.

The 2,500-acre Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve surrounds Argonne National Laboratory and features four different trails, fishing spots and a model airplane field. The Des Plaines River runs just south of the property line, parallel to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks.

Forest preserve Commissioner Linda Painter, whose district includes Waterfall Glen, said she voted in favor of the resolution with "a heavy heart."

"If that is going to be what it takes to prevent the carp from spreading from one waterway to another, it has to happen because we can't risk that," she said. "It's an unfortunate situation."

Painter said she's seen the damage Asian carp can do to an ecosystem. She said the number of eagles that normally feast on fish around the lock and dam at Starved Rock State Park along the Illinois River near Utica has dwindled because the carp have wreaked havoc on the fish habitats there. However, state wildlife officials aren't casting all the blame on Asian carp, though they do agree the presence of the invasive species is not a good thing.