Invasive species are a burden for Great Lakes communities. Each year, businesses and citizens spend billions of dollars in damages and control costs due to invasive species like the notorious Asian carp, the zebra mussel and sea lamprey. Invasive species foul beaches, harm commercial and recreational fishing, clog power plants and municipal water infrastructure, and disrupt the Great Lakes food chain—leading to the regional extinction of species, bird die-offs and dead zones. To date, more than 185 invasive species have entered the Great Lakes, and a new species is discovered every 28 weeks. The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy said that the Great Lakes are succumbing to an irreversible “invasional meltdown” that may be more severe than chemical pollution, as non-native species make the Great Lakes home—reproducing, spreading and rendering eradication impossible. Invaders enter the Great Lakes in several ways: as hitchhikers on foreign oceangoing vessels; through rivers and streams that have been artificially linked to the Great Lakes; and through trade and normal daily actitivities. Once they arrive, they are here to stay. Stopping invasive species before they enter is critical and the only way to secure the future for a restored Great Lakes.
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