Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee: Media event

CONTACTS:

Chris McCloud (IDNR) 217-299-7128 chris.mccloud@illinois.gov

Taryn Tuss (CEQ) 202-456-6998 Taryn_L._Tuss@ceq.eop.gov

CHICAGO- The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) will hold a media event in downtown Chicago on Monday May 23, 2011 at 1 P.M.CST. The purpose of the event is to announce the ACRCC’s 2011 Sampling and Monitoring Plan and demonstrate actions underway to track and remove Asian carp in the Chicago Area Waterway System. Media is invited to attend the event (location TBD) and join ACRCC members on a boat tour to view monitoring actions in progress.

The ACRCC is led by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and includes seven Federal agencies and all eight Great Lakes states, as well as the City of Chicago, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

* WHO: John Goss, Asian Carp Director, White House Council on Environmental Quality, John Rogner, Assistant Director, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Col. Vincent Quarles, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charlie Wooley, Deputy Regional Director Midwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

* WHAT: Press Conference and boat tour to announce and demonstrate projects within the 2011 Asian Carp Monitoring and Sampling Plan.

* WHEN: Monday May 23, 2011 at 1:00 P.M. CST.

* WHERE: TBD- Details will be forthcoming.

* WHY: The Asian Carp Monitoring and Sampling Plan outlines critical on-the-ground efforts to remove and track Asian carp and prevent this invasive species from establishing a self-sustaining population within Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes.

The Media tour will take approx 90 minutes after the conclusion of the press conference.

Members of the media interested in attending the event and boat tour should contact Chris McCloud by email (chris.mccloud@illinois.gov) or phone (217) 299-7128 to RSVP.