I'm surprised that no one has thought the government should alternatively offer a bounty for the capture of such fish.  With the economy the way it is a one dollar per fish bounty would offer a tidy return for a day's fishing on the Illinois waterways.  As their numbers dwindle the bounty could be increased.  If the history books are to be believed, we almost hunted the buffalo into extinction.  We could certainly do the same for this fish.  Just a thought.  There are worse things being done with the stimulus monies.

Demanding the president do something seems to be a dubious proposition, if not for the obvious reasons.  The states of the Great Lakes region have expended great efforts to keep the management of the lakes within the regional states and Canada.  They've done a fairly good job of this and for good reason.  Lake water is coveted by many states, many far from the region.  There is a serious effort afoot to consider them a national resource versus a state or regional one.  If that happens, there is nothing to prevent the federal government from deciding that the replenishment of Lake Lanier in Georgia or providing water to Texas or Arizona is a greater priority than the regional state's interest in protection and preservation.  It seems to me that encouraging the Obama administration to intervene opens the door to further possible intrusions, not all of them good.

If it's found that the threat is real we have as much leverage with Illinois as it has with us, perhaps even more.  The threat of cottage and boat taxes on Illinois residents vacationing in Michigan would rattle cages all the way to Springfield.