Federal funding has been released to build part of a barrier system to keep invasive carp from reaching Lake Michigan from the Illinois River. This is after the Trump administration moved the management of the project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island-Illinois District to the Detroit office.
The move last week was perceived as part of an ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and Illinois’ Democratic Governor, JB Pritzker. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, also a Democrat, has tended to be more conciliatory in her dealings with the president.
Pritzker’s office says funding for the next phase of the project, which is in Illinois, will allow that work to continue.
Joel Brammeier is with the Alliance for the Great Lakes. He says the politics surrounding the Trump administration’s action and where the project is managed is less important than the fact that the project is moving ahead.
“It’s really important just to get back to what are we trying to achieve here and let’s not, you know, throw up roadblocks that don’t need to be there.”
Congress is supposed to approve the next round of funding by the end of next year. Once completed, the barrier system is supposed to keep invasive carp from escaping from the Mississippi River water system into Lake Michigan.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
