There’s been another recent push in legislation to prevent invasive species from entering the Great Lakes.
Michigan’s U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) and Rep. Candice Miller (R-Harrison Township) introduced a bill backed by 12 other members of the Michigan congressional delegation aimed at protecting the Great Lakes region’s $7 billion recreational fishing and $16 billion recreational boating industries. Both Michigan lawmakers are members of the Great Lakes Task Force.
The bill, titled “Defending Our Great Lakes Act,” would give federal agencies “broad authority to take immediate actions to stop the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species,” according to a statement from Stabenow and Miller. “This legislation also will require key agencies to work with regional stakeholders to institute long-term measures to stop the spread of invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.”
The legislation calls for swift action by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement much-needed, short-term invasive species risk reduction measures. As the bill recommends, implementation of measures at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam site on the Des Plaines River in Illinois can help to reduce the risk of invasive species, particularly Asian carp, moving from the Mississippi River Basin into the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Areas of Concern also is receiving $7.9 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fund habitat restoration projects.
