Brandon Road Project to Keep Invasive Carp Out of Great Lakes Moves to Construction Phase

On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, announced that the District and the States of Illinois and Michigan had signed a partnership agreement for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project.  

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam,  shown partially in the video below, is viewed as a critical pinch point for stopping invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes:


The signed partnership agreement "allows $274 million in federal funding, including $226 million provided by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and $114 million in state funding to be used for construction of the first of three construction increments of the $1.15 billion project designed to prevent the upstream movement of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes" according to the Army Corps' press release.

The Brandon Road Interbasin Project will consist of acoustic and electric deterrents, along with a leading edge bubbler and a flushing lock, according to this graphic from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District:
Graphic by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District

Efforts to stop invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes have included the State of Illinois hiring commercial fishers to catch the carp before they reach the Brandon Road Lock and Dam.  For example, the video below from 2018 shows a fishing demonstration at  Rock Run Rookery.  The lake at the Forest Preserve District of Will County location is connected to the Des Plaines River and asian carp prefer the calm environment of the lake compared to the river which is heavily traveled by barges:

Popular posts from this blog

Beautiful Fall Colors at Gerdes Grove, Twelve Mile Grove in Wilton Center, Illinois

Image
Beautiful fall colors are on display at Gerdes Grove and the Laughton Preserve in Wilton Center, Illinois.  The preserves are part of the Will County Forest Preserve District.  Laughton Preserve, Wilton Center, Illinois  Laughton Preserve, Wilton Center, Illinois  Laughton Preserve, Wilton Center, Illinois Gerdes Grove, Wilton Center, Illinois According to the Forest Preserve District of Will County's website : " Laughton Preserve began with the District's acquisition of an 8-acre parcel from the Gerdes family, and has grown to 430 acres from extensive acquisitions in the 1990s and in 2006.  The preserve contains approximately 2 miles of Forked Creek and has been left largely undisturbed, as it protects a remnant of the historic Twelve Mile Grove (a prairie grove 12 miles along the road from Joliet to Danville), portions of the 1832 Ce-Na-Ge-Wine and Joseph Laughton Reservations, and the historic Wallingford Settlement in Wilton ...
Read more

Local VFW Post Joins Work to Keep Gemini Giant in Wilmington

Image
The Wilmington VFW Post is joining the local effort to keep the Gemini Giant in Wilmington.  The statue is up for online bid at the Grafe Auction website . Wilmington's VFW Post 5422 posted to their Facebook page on March 8, 2024 that: " The Wilmington VFW Post 5422 along with Save the Gemini Giant have teamed up to make an effort to keep the Gemini Giant in Wilmington and relocate it 1 mile west on Route 66 to the VFW.  We need your help. "   Read the full post here . The Gemini Giant has greeted Route 66 travelers to Wilmington for decades:
Read more