Fisheries committee  I really can't, and I'm sorry to say that; we put all of our emphasis on the technical and engineering side of things. We knew this would be a huge challenge. Actually, as recently as Friday afternoon I was meeting with representatives of the Bank of Montreal about creative approaches to this.

Fisheries committee  It would be the U.S. Congress that would ultimately decide, because they would decide if the money could be spent. The Corps of Engineers is doing all of the technical work, but a project of this magnitude would go to Congress.

Fisheries committee  Pretty much everything; it's probably not 100%, but it's a pretty high rate. They were very concerned, because they had to take the electric barrier down to do this maintenance work. I think it was a 24- to 48-hour period. They gave a really intense dose of rotenone. If I'm remembering correctly, it was a three- or four-mile stretch of the river, or perhaps a two- or three-mile stretch, something like that, so it was pretty substantial.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  One of the major reasons for doing this was to show that it's feasible; another was to do whatever we could to try to accelerate the process. Yes, it probably will be about two to three years before a decision will be made. Congress is putting a great deal of pressure on the Army Corps of Engineers to accelerate that.

Fisheries committee  I think making sure that the United States knows how important this is to Canadians would help. Every time I cross the border and I say I work on the Great Lakes, your border patrol people ask me about keeping the Asian carp out. The Canadian mayors in our organization have requested that the U.S.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  There were six separate ships, but I don't know how many actual fish were involved.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  I think that's an absolutely essential element of this. Since we released our report on January 31, I've given close to 15 different presentations to the broader public and to narrower interest groups just to inform them about this. But absolutely education and outreach are critically important, with regard not only to the carp but to all invasive species.

Fisheries committee  My best sense of this is that there has been a growing recognition on the part of mayors all along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence as to how absolutely essential the integrity of the resource is to their broader economic well-being. Granted, the fishery is probably not a huge part of each one of their individual economies, but, just as an example, recreational boating associated with fishing and other things is very important.

Fisheries committee  Yes, it does, and it moved in two directions. In 1900 a canal was dug, roughly 28 miles long, connecting the Chicago River, which had flowed into Lake Michigan but was carrying Chicago's pollution to the drinking water source, with people dying as a result of drinking the waste, and sent it downstream, which isn't a good solution.

Fisheries committee  Yes. St. Louis and other areas were not consulted about this. But basically the theory behind this most viable of the three options that are included, the mid-system option, is that it comes closest to re-establishing the natural divide where it was before. Basically what you do is to put earth and fill—concrete sheet piling—in several locations.

Fisheries committee  I believe that it is absolutely essential and if I felt it were inevitable, I wouldn't be spending my time on this.

Fisheries committee  Yes.