ANN ARBOR, MI (July 10, 2019) – U.S. governors and Canadian premiers agreed today to support a federal plan to stop invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes by rebuilding the Brandon Road Lock and Dam.
Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Premier Francois Legault of Quebec, and Premier Doug Ford of Ontario are supporting the plan, as part of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers.
Marc Smith, Great Lakes director of conservation partnerships for the National Wildlife Federation, said:
“We applaud the Great Lakes Governors and Premiers for agreeing to work together to protect their states and provinces from Asian carp. Asian carp are at the door steps of the Great Lakes where they could undermine the $7 billion sportfishery, tourism economy, and freshwater way of life for communities throughout the Great Lakes region. Asian carp are a national problem requiring a national solution that starts with keeping them out of the Great Lakes and removing them from waters where they currently are a major economic and ecological problem. Congress must now authorize and appropriate the Brandon Road project without delay.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved a plan to rebuild the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, south of Chicago, to include multiple fish deterrent technologies designed to prevent Asian carp from advancing closer to Lake Michigan. The coalition adopted a resolution to support Illinois in its nonfederal sponsor role for the project and urged Congress to approve and fund the engineering and design costs for the project to start.
