FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHICAGO, IL (May 9, 2025) – Today, President Donald Trump signed and issued a memo directing his administration to take steps to block invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. The memo is a signal of support for the Brandon Road project intended to stop invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes and causing irreversible damage.
“We appreciate the White House’s acknowledgement that now is the time to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes by building the Brandon Road project,” said Joel Brammeier, President and CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
The Brandon Road Lock and Dam was identified as the crucial bottleneck where layered underwater deterrent technologieswill be used to stop invasive carp populations from moving into the Great Lakes. Using the Illinois River and other waterways to expand their territory, invasive carp pose a significant threat to the ecological and economic health of Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes.
These invasive fish have already wreaked havoc on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, causing damage to native fish populations by outcompeting them for food. Silver carp leap into the air when startled, posing the risk of serious injury to people and making infested waters off-limits to boating. Great Lakes communities and industries would be deeply harmed if invasive carp were to get into the Great Lakes or its tributaries and inland lakes.
Contact: Don Carr, Alliance for the Great Lakes Media Director dcarr@greatlakes.org
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