MWA Encourages Readers to Contact Their State Representatives
and Senators to Support the Governor’s 2024 Budget Recommendation
Michigan Governor Whitmer’s Fiscal Year 2024 executive budget proposal includes $64 M in funding that along with matching funding from Illinois will enable the completion of a significant modification to the Joliet, Illinois-based Brandon Road Lock and Dam that will help keep highly invasive carp from the entering the Great Lakes in addition to $12 M in funds to establish for the first time in Michigan an exotic invasive species rapid response task force.
In an era marked by the steadily increasing presence of highly invasive exotic terrestrial and aquatic species whose very existence represents a significant threat to Michigan’s economy and culture, funding to create a multi-agency invasive species rapid response task force that will be dedicated to preventing the introduction and establishment of new invasive plant and animal species, and will also work pro-actively to limit the spread and harmful influences of the many exotic invasive species that are already present represents a vital step in Michigan’s battle against exotic invasive species.
It is important to point out that the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in the Chicago Area Waterway System located near Joliet, Illinois is a critical point for on-going collaborative efforts designed to help keep invasive bighead, silver, and black carp from entering the Great Lakes. The project that is being jointly funded by Michigan and Illinois involves installing layered technologies that when complete will include an electric barrier, underwater sound, an air bubble curtain, and a flushing lock that has been designed to prevent the movement of invasive carp while simultaneously allowing barge traffic to pass through the lock passage.
To learn more about the Brandon Road Lock and Dam as it exists today, visit the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers facility dedicated website by clicking here
To download a copy of Governor Whitmer’s proposed Fiscal Year 2024 state budget, click here...
To find your Michigan Senator based on your home address, visit https://senate.michigan.gov/
To find your Michigan Representative based on your home address, visit https://www.house.mi.gov/