Asian Carp Czar Named by White House

The federal Council on Environmental Quality recently announced the appointment of John Goss as the Asian Carp Director.  According to CEQ's press release, Goss "will serve as the principal advisor to CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley on Asian carp issues, and oversee the coordination of Federal, state, and local efforts to keep Asian carp from establishing in the Great Lakes ecosystems. . . . Goss will also chair the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC), which is a team of Federal, state and local agencies working together to prevent Asian carp from establishing populations in the Great Lakes."

CEQ's press release also describes Goss's background: "Goss joins CEQ from the Indiana Wildlife Federation, the Indiana State affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation, where he served for four years as the Executive Director.  In his role at the Wildlife Federation, he worked with conservation, business and industry groups to support the Great Lakes Compact.  Goss previously served as Director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and as Vice Chair of the Great Lakes Commission. . . . Prior to his position at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Goss was Director of Tourism for the State of Indiana and chaired the Great Lakes International Marketing Initiative for the Great Lakes Governors Association. Goss served as Chief of Staff for Lt. Governor Frank O’Bannon, District Director for Congressman Frank McCloskey and Deputy Mayor for the City of Bloomington, Indiana. Goss received his Masters of Public Affairs and his B.A. in Economics from Indiana University."

The question is whether the federal government needs an Asian carp czar now.  Several states have sued to force the closure of Chicago locks to physically prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.  Apparently, they believe that this is the only solution, because they have criticized everything else the Obama administration is doing.  While the appointment of Mr. Goss shows that the White House is very serious about this issue, will it really do anything to change the mind of those people who think that we must close the locks or else?  I doubt it.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.