Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Great Lakes Commission today applauded the introduction of legislation in the U.S. Senate to protect vulnerable natural resources from the economic and ecological threat of invasive species. The Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act of 2016, introduced by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), would expand the authority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prohibit harmful nonnative species from being imported or sold in the United States. Under the current system established by the Lacey Act of 1900 (18 USC 42), nonnative species are frequently deemed “injurious” only after they are established and causing damage to an ecosystem.

“I applaud Sens. Gillibrand, Peters, Schumer and Stabenow for introducing this important legislation to prevent invasive species from continuing to wreak havoc on our ecosystems and economies,” said Jon Allan, chair of the Great Lakes Commission and director of Michigan’s Office of the Great Lakes. “The current system too often focuses on managing or regulating species only after they have been imported and begun spreading, as has occurred with devastating results in the case of Asian carp throughout the Mississippi River system. The Great Lakes ecosystem is already home to more than 180 invasive and nonnative species, and the Great Lakes Commission has consistently advocated for strengthened federal laws to prevent their further spread and the introduction of new species. We urge swift passage of the Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act to protect natural resources in the Great Lakes basin and across the country.”

“The Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act would give federal wildlife officials new tools to keep out invasive species that pose an imminent threat to Western New York,” said Sen. Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “In recent years, we’ve seen many cases of invasive species from other countries – dangerous animals that aren’t meant to live in our ecosystems here – being introduced into bodies of water around our state and around Western New York. We need to do more to prevent harmful species from coming here from overseas and harming our ecosystems, and this bill would finally let us begin to address this problem.”

Currently, species such as invasive Asian carp and Snakehead fish are listed as “injurious” to natural resources in the United States. Once a species is listed as injurious, it cannot be imported into the United States, or transported, without a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit.  This legislation would establish a new injurious species listing process based on risk to natural resources, and would provide the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with temporary authority to make emergency designations for wildlife that pose an imminent threat.

For more information on the Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act of 2016, click here for a summary or read the bill text here.

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The Great Lakes Commission, led by Chair Jon W. Allan, director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes, is an interstate compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, and agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.