The People's Business

DES MOINES – Over time we’ve identified and catalogued many odd species in this space – the bloated egomaniac, the wrongheaded naysayer, the ruby-throated blowhard and the tufted no-talent hack.

But today, let’s consider the flying carp.

The flying carp, or more correctly the silver carp, can weigh up to 60 pounds, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, or DNR. The silver carp also has the ability to burst from the water and catapult itself several feet into the air.

A short video recently shown to state lawmakers by environmental officials proves it’s no fish story. Imagine guiding a boat at breakneck speed across your favorite lake. Now imagine being smacked by a flying bag of cement. You’ve just met a silver carp.

And according to the DNR, silver carp are on our doorstep. They escaped aquaculture ponds in Arkansas and the jumping devils are migrating due north.

There are silver carp in the Mississippi River, although at this point they’re bottled up south of Lock and Dam 19 at Keokuk. There are silver carp in the southern Des Moines River. Missouri and Illinois already have been invaded.

Commercial fishermen in those states have abandoned some waterways where they can no longer lift carp-filled nets out of the water. Conservation officers in parts of Illinois actually carry garbage can lids in their boats to knock down any jumping fish they encounter. They often return with a huge load of dazed carp.

But can anything be done?

Iowa’s best hopes for grounding the flying carp threat rests on the shoulders of Kim Bogenschutz, a Minnesota-born biologist and the coordinator of DNR’s Aquatic Nuisance Species program. But the silver carp is merely one among Bogenschutz’s many foes.

The top public enemy is Eurasian watermilfoil - a rapidly spreading underwater plant that can choke lakes and thwart boaters. Enemy No. 2 is the dreaded zebra mussel – an aquatic breeding machine that swiftly crowds out native species.

Left unchecked, those culprits could unleash devastating consequences in parts of Iowa where boating and water recreation are the economic and social lifeblood. With so much at stake you’d think Bogenschutz and an elite strike force of biologists would be whisked away in attack helicopters and dropped into milfoil hotspots to deploy laser-guided pesticides.

You’d be wrong.

Bogenschutz has just a $170,000 annual budget - or roughly what it takes to keep the Legislature running for four days. It’s enough for Bogenschutz to hire a couple summer interns, but not enough to buy an attack helicopter.

Bogenschutz and her interns spend every summer weekend and holidays fanning out across the state to inspect boats before they hit the water. They’re looking for traces of watermilfoil, zebra mussels or other pests that might be hitching a ride.

It’s been a good summer if her crew manages to inspect 1,000 boats. Last year they covered 600. There are more than 229,000 boats registered in Iowa.

Doing more would require more people and more money. And – in a move almost as unbelievable as flying carp - lawmakers are on the verge of providing it.

Bills moving through the House and Senate would significantly increase boat registration fees. Part of the new money would go for increased safety patrols on lakes and rivers, but $500,000 or more would be spent on efforts to stop and control invasive species. Bogenschutz said that would be enough to hire at least a dozen seasonal inspectors, pay for a larger public education effort and beef up species control initiatives.

But can the silver carp be stopped?

Bogenschutz said there is talk of creating a barrier on the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers to halt the carp’s progress. She said British researchers have developed technology that delivers sound waves inside bubbles that apparently carp can’t stand.

It just might work. But grab a garbage can lid anyway, just in case.

Todd Dorman is Statehouse bureau chief for Lee Enterprises newspapers. He can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or by e-mailing todd.dorman@lee.net