Michigan has inched closer to protecting its freshwater resources from an invasive species, the Michigan Advance reported.
On May 9, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that offered support for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, which looks to prevent the encroachment of invasive carp and other nuisance marine species into the Great Lakes from the Illinois Waterway. The BRIP was designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with lawmakers from Michigan and Illinois.
According to the Corps, the BRIP will implement a complex series of invasive carp and aquatic nuisance species deterrents to stop invasive carp from moving into the Great Lakes. Native to East Asia, the silver carp often feeds on plankton, a primary food source for native fish species such as walleye, yellow perch, and whitefish.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer celebrated the signing of the memo, which signals a federal desire to move the project forward.
"This game-changing project, built at a critical water junction, will protect the Great Lakes from invasive species of carp," Whitmer said in a statement. "These fish, if allowed to enter the lakes, would destroy the ecosystem below the water and devastate our economy above it. The Great Lakes are home to 3,500 plant and animal species and they support 1.5 million jobs that generate [more] than $60 billion in wages a year across the entire region."
Michigan and other Great Lakes states have been working to remove and prevent the spread of invasive fish species population for years. In 2024, a team of bowfishers set a world record when they caught a 32-inch Japanese koi during an invasive species removal initiative.
Altogether, the Great Lakes region boasts a fishing industry that hauls in over $7 billion each year and supports more than 75,000 jobs. Invasive species have the ability to reduce biodiversity, alter habitats of native species, and disrupt ecological processes. They outcompete native species for resources and can introduce diseases as well.
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall emphasized the significance of the memo as well. Per the Advance, Hall referred to the latest development as a "big, important victory for Michigan" in its effort to prevent the invasive fish from grabbing a hold of the Great Lakes region.
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