Wisconsin’s governor is asking President Trump to release funding to help combat invasive carp in the Great Lakes.
In the letter, Gov. Tony Evers asks the president to move the Brandon Road Invasive Carp Interbasin Project forward, stating, “Timely progress on this project is crucial to the health and economy of the Great Lakes and the states that border them.”
Evers continues to say that when invasive carp become abundant, native fisheries are destroyed and families are deprived of their favorite on-the-water pastime.
He finishes his letter explaining that the completion of the Brandon Road project would benefit the economy, with anglers spending around $4.9 billion on the Great Lakes for fishing, and $353 million in Wisconsin alone.
The project is a protection effort at the Brandon Lock and Dam near Joliet, IL, that would prevent the upstream movement of invasive carp and other aquatic nuisance species to the Great Lakes from the Illinois waterway.
The original federal agreement would allow $274 million in federal funding for channel construction.
Whitehouse.gov says that Pres. Trump fully supports the project, but Illinois Governor JB Pritzker “decided to delay the State’s acquisition of property, which is necessary for construction to begin.”
The president says Illinois needs to acquire the land first and must also issue the Army Corp. a State-level permit to begin construction.
