The reaction of the two industries that still use barges on the possibility of closing the St. Anthony locks because of Asian carp was not surprising ("Port may fall victim to carp," Oct. 9). One complains about "choking off" an industry that has been there forever; the other imagines massive truck shipments from St. Paul to Minneapolis, tying up freeways, shutting down everything. Both ignore the devastating effect these invasive fish would have on the rest of us and the environment. Asian carp are like cockroaches. By the time you see one, there are hundreds. They "choke off" everything. Even if upgrading the Coon Rapids Dam were 100 percent effective, the Mississippi River south of it is still vulnerable. Maybe barges can withstand 100-pound flying fish, but kayaks, canoes, small boats, waterskiing and fishing cannot. The entire Twin Cities area would lose the enjoyment of one of the greatest rivers in the world at a time when it is seeking to further embrace it. I grew up in a small suburban development surrounded by corn and potato fields and thousands of trees. The fields are long gone. The trees have been replaced by housing and the hum of a highway. They called it progress, for the good of the whole. This is the 21st century. The smell, noise and dust of dirty industry no longer belongs along the banks of one our national treasures. It's time for it to move. We'll call it progress, for the good of the whole.SUSAN VIKSE, MINNEAPOLIS