Trump’s Memorandum Fast-Tracks Project to Keep Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes

Michigan’s Democratic governor touts the bipartisan effort to erect barriers to protect the Great Lakes’ native species as well as recreation and tourism.

Workers with the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee dump a chemical into the Little Calumet River to kill all of the fish in a two-mile stretch of the river on May 20, 2010, in Chicago. Scott Olson/Getty Images

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday to expedite the construction of a system of barriers to stop the migration of Asian carp into the Great Lakes Basin.

For years, the large fish, which can weigh more than 100 pounds, have been steadily making their way north from the southeastern United States through streams, rivers, and lakes, according to a fact sheet summarizing the memorandum.

How it got to the Great Lakes region remains uncertain. One theory postulates that floods washed the fish out of breeding ponds on fish farms in the central Midwest.

Asian carp is considered an invasive species that poses great danger to the ecosystem of the Great Lakes, the largest source of fresh surface water in the world. Voraciously eating everything from plant life to other fish, they outcompete and soon outbreed such native species as walleye, yellow perch, and lake whitefish to near extinction.

According to the May 9 fact sheet, “[Asian carp’s] potential entry into the Great Lakes would irreparably damage fishing, boating, recreation, and tourism, which supports tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in commerce annually.”

The Great Lakes are also an important shipping avenue for domestic and international commerce and a source of high-quality drinking water for millions of Americans.

The project to stop the migration of Asian carp into the Great Lakes was authorized through the Water Resources Development Act of 2020.

Much of the work is slated to be done in the state of Illinois.

To date, the federal government has spent $274 million on the effort, called The Brandon Road Project, with very few results, according to the fact sheet.

Providing the Impetus

To move things forward, Trump has mandated all federal agencies to streamline all necessary permitting and environmental reviews. He has also imposed a deadline of July 1, 2025, for Illinois to acquire the necessary land to begin construction of the barriers and 30-day deadlines for local permits to be granted to facilitate the Army Corps of Engineers in its work.

The memorandum also instructs the Environmental Protection Agency to prioritize infrastructure projects to remove invasive carp from the Upper Illinois Waterway near Lake Michigan and maintain existing barriers to prevent their entry into the Great Lakes Basin.

The president also tasks the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prioritize research and management for the prevention, removal, and control of invasive carp and other aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes.

Bipartisan Support

The president’s interest in the long-dormant project may have been kick-started during a recent visit to the White House by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives Matt Hall, a Republican. Both leaders advocated strongly for quick action on the project.

In a video posted on X, Whitmer said the Great Lakes make up 21 percent of the world’s fresh surface water and that she keenly felt the responsibility to protect them.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the White House Oval Office on April 9, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Whitmer said the president’s action was a “huge step” for him and a “huge deal” for the people of Michigan.

According to Whitmer, the reactivation of the Asian carp project was due to “good old-fashioned teamwork.”

She said of her cooperation with Trump, “We talk to anyone and work together to get things done.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, had put a hold on the project for months over concerns about federal budget cuts but has since said he has received sufficient assurance from Trump that the administration would put up its share of the project’s funding.

Pritzker said in a May 9 press release, “I am glad that the Trump administration heard our calls about the importance of delivering federal funds for the Brandon Road Project and decided to finally meet their obligations to the State of Illinois and the Great Lakes region.”

Michigan State Representative Greg Alexander, a Republican whose district borders Lake Huron, said in a statement: “Our Michigan House, the governor, and President Trump are all on the same page. We can’t afford political posturing or political games. It’s time to deliver to save our Great Lakes from catastrophe.”