Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: Stopping the Asian Carp and Other Nuisance Species: Cost Projections for Separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins Using U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Inputs

Abstract

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, released in 2014, evaluates strategies to lessen the risk of Asian carp and other aquatic nuisance species transferring between these ecosystems. Due to the voluminous nature of the report and manner in which the results are presented, however, many important questions remain difficult to answer, such as: How do the costs of the different strategies differ; and How would the costs be distributed across various stakeholders? To help evaluate the results, this article uses the study’s many estimates, considerations of net present value, and other tools to show how the costs of the alternatives differ over a 50-year time period. This information can help inform policymakers about the best way to move forward with a cost-effective strategy to deal with aquatic nuisance species.Environmental Practice 17: 291–301 (2015)