* Maybe after doing this, Congress can find time to cut a deal on a stimulus bill. Greg Hinz…

A project seen as crucial to keeping voracious Asian carp out of Lake Michigan and the rest of the Great Lakes is teed up for a vote in the U.S. House today.

Under a deal crafted by U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Geneva, construction of a barrier separation system at the Brandon Road locks on the Des Plaines River just south of Joliet would be funded 80 percent by the federal government, up from the normal 50 percent.

That would cut Illinois’ share of the roughly $500 million project to $100 million, with other states likely to pick up some of the share. Former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration had balked at the state’s fiscal hit, which had risen with estimated construction costs to as much as $250 million, but green leaders including the Environmental Law & Policy Center’s Howard Learner say they believe Rauner successor, J.B. Pritzker, will go along with the new funding plan trimming the state’s cost. […]

The same bill also authorizes the corps to study beach “resiliency” issues for the Chicago shoreline, which is under pressure from rising lake levels.

* Meanwhile…

In fish, the fin bone is connected to the tail bone and so on. But for a researcher at Southern Illinois University Carbondale studying an aggressive invader, it’s all about the ear bone.

That tiny bone in the ear of the grass carp is exposing an important clue to controlling their numbers in the Great Lakes. The findings are contained in a paper by SIU Professor of Zoology Gregory Whitledge, recently published in Journal of Great Lakes Research.

Whitledge and others used the telltale chemistry contained in the growth rings from the bone to identify key breeding grounds for the fish. The information contained in the otoliths, or so-called “ear stones,” could help wildlife managers better target population control efforts aimed at a fish that crowds out native animals.

Way to go, SIUC!

I didn’t realize this, but Asian Carp is also a problem in Bangladesh.