The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committing to put $8 million into the work on a barrier system at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Illinois in an effort to stop Asian carp. The announcement Tuesday follows an announcement last week that environmental DNA from Asian carp was found in 76 of 414 water samples taken from waters connected to Lake Michigan. The DNR notes some of those were “well beyond Brandon Road Lock and Dam.” Although no live invasive carp were found in the recent sampling, the results showed far more invasive carp eDNA than had previously been discovered in these waters. The Brandon Road project, currently awaiting congressional approval, would install additional technologies to try to keep the carp out of Lake Michigan and beyond. Those include an electric barrier, underwater sound, an air bubble curtain and a flushing lock.
Photo provided by Michigan Department of Natural Resources of Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Illinois.
