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Trump Pledges Great Lakes Carp Defense as Funding Freeze Persists

Construction remains stalled until the administration lifts its pause on Brandon Road project funds, according to governors and conservation groups.

Silver carp jump in the La Grange pool of the Illinois River as Illinois Natural History Survey staff work on the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program’s long-term monitoring program. Staff are electrofishing to monitor fish populations as they have ecological, recreational and commercial value to the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Photo courtesy of Illinois Natural History Survey
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Overview

  • After meeting with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, President Trump said he would rally Great Lakes governors to support efforts to block invasive carp.
  • The $1.15 billion Brandon Road Interbasin Project remains on hold under a December administrative review that has halted release of previously appropriated federal money.
  • Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Dick Durbin urged the White House to unlock funding, with Durbin calling on Trump to direct the Army Corps to end the pause.
  • The Army Corps plan would add layered deterrents at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet — noisemakers, a bubble curtain, an electric barrier and a flushing lock — to keep carp from the Lake Michigan connection.
  • Scientists report carp have not established in the Great Lakes and are monitored about 47 miles from Lake Michigan, warning the species threatens the region’s roughly $7 billion fishery without timely prevention.