Tell Gov. Hochul to block invasive species at the Erie and Champlain canals

Lock and round goby

The round goby, a small fish with frog-like eyes native to the Baltic and Caspian seas, reached the Hudson River in 2021. After being introduced to the Great Lakes, it entered the Erie Canal by 2013, and took just eight years to reach the Hudson. Its disruptions to the ecology of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers is now unpreventable, and its continued spread through the Champlain Canal could threaten Lake Champlain.

This won’t be the last invasive species to use the Erie and Champlain canals to spread into new ecosystems – unless Governor Kathy Hochul takes decisive action to block their passage through these century-old canals.

Using technology and processes used at many marinas for lifting, washing and winterizing boats, we can close small portions of each canal while maintaining recreational boating access. Through careful consultation with the limited commercial users of the canals, we can ensure that industry’s needs are met as well.

Scientists have identified blocking species invasions via New York canals as perhaps the most important single action that can protect the ecology of the Hudson River. Species of invasive carp native to Europe and Asia that would cause dramatic disruption to native species like striped bass, sturgeon and herring have been moving through the Mississippi River and threatening the Great Lakes, the last stop before the Erie Canal. Once an invasive species reaches the Mohawk or Hudson, it can rarely be eradicated. Its effects are often more dramatic, damaging and lasting than pollution. Rarely do we have the opportunity for a surgical, definitive and proactive solution to this thorny environmental problem.

The Hudson River’s signature fish species are at critically low levels, in decline or at best showing halting early signs of recovery. Climate change will stress an ecosystem already assaulted by decades of overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction and past species invasions. Preventing disruption by yet another invasive species is a profound act of resilience.

Now is the time to take decisive action.

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Effectively preventing invasive species from crossing from the Great Lakes via the Erie Canal is one of the most important actions that can be taken to protect the ecology of the Hudson River Estuary and its watershed. Similarly, a Champlain Canal barrier would prevent species like the round goby, which traversed the Erie Canal in just seven years and reached the Hudson in 2021, from threatening the Lake Champlain ecosystem.

Protecting native species like striped bass, Atlantic sturgeon, American shad and river herring is important to me. Already half the species in the Mohawk River, the Hudson's largest tributary, are non-native. The Hudson River's ecology has already been severely disrupted by invasions, diminishing natural abundance. Preventing future species invasions is an important step to bolster the resilience of the Hudson River in the face of climate change and the many other stresses affecting aquatic ecology.

Using technology and processes used at many marinas for lifting, washing and winterizing boats, we can close small portions of each canal while maintaining recreational boating access. With careful consultation with the limited commercial users of the canals, we can ensure that industry's needs are met as well. The state has funded studies that have identified specific solutions for the Erie Canal. These solutions must be implemented.

We urge your decisive action to support the creation of effective engineered solutions in the Erie and Champlain Canals to hydrologically separate the Hudson, Great Lakes and Champlain watersheds to protect native ecology while maintaining boating and commerce.

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