Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that her amendment to fight Asian carp passed the Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act. The amendment, cosponsored by Senator Al Franken, would close the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock within a year to help stop the spread of the invasive species.

“Asian carp not only pose a serious threat to Minnesota’s environment, they also threaten the recreation and fishing industries that play a key role in the state’s economy,” Klobuchar said. “Today’s action is a significant step forward to help the state take action to protect Minnesota’s waterways so we can keep this invasive species from wreaking havoc on our lakes and rivers.”

Klobuchar has been a leader in helping to fight the spread of Asian carp. Earlier this year, Senator Klobuchar introduced The Upper Mississippi Conservation and River Protection Act (Upper Mississippi CARP Act) that was similar to the amendment that passed today. The bill, which Klobuchar introduced with Senator Franken and Representatives Keith Ellison, Erik Paulsen, Tim Walz, and Rick Nolan, would help keep Asian carp out of the state’s waterways by closing the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock if certain criteria are met and directing federal agencies to partner with Minnesota on efforts to root out infestations and prevent the spread of Asian carp in the state’s rivers.

Klobuchar also cosponsored an additional amendment to the Water Resources Development Act, introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), to help create a coordinated federal response to the Asian carp threat, enabling the federal government to work more effectively with state and local entities to help fight the spread of the invasive species in waterways around the country.  Last year Klobuchar worked to pass the Stop Invasive Species Act, which requires the expedited creation of a plan to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes through a number of rivers and tributaries across the Great Lakes region.

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