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U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (MI-06) led a bipartisan letter to the White House urging the Trump administration to immediately release the Brandon Road Lock and Dam study. The letter, signed by all 14 members of Michigan’s House Delegation, highlights the study as being the best way to learn how to prevent Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes. The letter comes on the heels of the discovery of an 8-pound, 28-inch adult silver carp less than 10 miles from Lake Michigan.

The letter notes that Asian Carp would have the “potential to decimate the Great Lakes we all love and depend on. It is absolutely imperative we step up our effort to further protect our lakes. The release of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam evaluation is an essential next step to ensure we safeguard our region’s $7 billion fishing industry, $16 billion boating industry, and $18 billion hunting and wildlife observation industry.”

The full letter can be found online here or below:

President Donald J. Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Trump:

We write to you in support of immediately releasing the Brandon Road Lock and Dam study on how best to prevent Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes.  The recent discovery of a live Silver Carp well beyond the electric barrier and only nine miles from Lake Michigan is very concerning, and the study is crucial to getting a full grasp of our options to stop this destructive force.

As you know, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) first announced the Brandon Road Lock and Dam evaluation in April 2015 as part of the ongoing Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin Study.  This evaluation is intended to provide important guidance on how best to prevent Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes.

Although the Corps initially announced that a draft of the Brandon Road study would be released on February 28, 2017, the release has since been delayed until further notice.

Asian Carp have the potential to decimate the Great Lakes we all love and depend on.  It is absolutely imperative we step up our effort to further protect our lakes.  The release of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam evaluation is an essential next step to ensure we safeguard our region’s $7 billion fishing industry, $16 billion boating industry, and $18 billion hunting and wildlife observation industry.  The introduction of Asian Carp would compete with native species, unravel aquatic food chains, and have devastating economic consequences for these industries and others across the entire region.

Further delay of the study will only increase the likelihood of a full scale, irreversible inundation of this highly destructive invasive species.  Ensuring Asian Carp stay out of these treasured waters that support countless jobs in our region, now and in the future, is of the utmost importance.  Our efforts will not stop until the Asian Carp threat is stopped once and for all.  We ask you to release this critical study immediately, with strong bipartisan support.