LANSING – Michigan voters back taking action to erect barriers in the Chicago canals to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, a poll taken by the Lansing firm of EPIC/MRA shows.

The poll of 600 likely voters also showed that nearly three-quarters of those asked were very concerned about the invasive species entering the Great Lakes through Lake Michigan. And a plurality of those questioned thought the federal government rather than Michigan should pay for keeping the carp out of the Great Lakes.

The poll found that 60 percent of those questioned said barriers should be erected in the Chicago canals to keep the carp out of Lake Michigan. Closing the canal against the carp has been both a legal and engineering issue, with studies coming out this week saying there were ways to both guarantee shipping access and keeping the carp out of Lake Michigan.

The biggest support for erecting barriers, 64 percent, came from western Michigan. Interestingly, there was a bit of a political difference with supporters of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, 65 percent, more in favor of barriers than supporters of President Barack Obama, 59 percent.

Nearly 70 percent said they had heard a lot or at least some information about the carp.

And 73 percent of those asked said they were very concerned about the carp getting into the Great Lakes and possibly doing irreparable harm to the ecosystem.

In terms of who should pay for efforts to control the carp, 49 percent said the federal government. Democrats favored the feds over state government 54 percent to 28 percent, while independents favored federal expenditure by 55 percent over 31 percent wanting the states paying for controls.

Just 41 percent of Republicans favored federal expenditures while 50 percent wanted the states to pay for controls. But among Republican men, 47 percent favored federal payment compared to 45 percent wanting the states to pay for the controls. Just 34 percent of Republican women favored federal spending. In fact, in all the partisan splits men were more likely to favor federal spending than women.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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