Whitmer’s Call to Trump Unlocks Great Lakes Carp Barrier
An unexplained Trump administration hold on construction of a $1.15 billion project to prevent invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes was abruptly lifted this week, hours after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer directly called President Donald Trump to intervene. The Army Corps of Engineers had halted work without explanation on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project near Joliet, Illinois, in late July, leaving officials in Illinois and Michigan scrambling for answers even as environmental officials warned that invasive carp were being found alarmingly close to Lake Michigan.
A Pivotal Project in Flux
The Brandon Road Interbasin Project is a multilayered defense system at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet, approximately 40 miles southwest of Lake Michigan. Using electric, acoustic, and bubble deterrents, the project — a partnership among the federal government, Illinois, and Michigan — aims to protect the Great Lakes from bighead and silver carp and other invasive species that could devastate the region’s more than $5.1 billion fishery.
The project has faced repeated uncertainty under the Trump administration despite his public support and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding approved under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Work largely stopped in December 2025 during an administrative review, then resumed in April 2026 when the administration moved project authority from the Army Corps’ Rock Island, Illinois, District to the Detroit District — a move widely perceived as retaliation against Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, one of Trump’s most outspoken critics among the nation’s governors.
Whitmer’s Unusual Cross-Party Channel
Whitmer, a Democrat who is term-limited and set to leave office in January, has developed an unusual relationship with a president who was once one of her fiercest political foes. During Trump’s second term, she has traveled to the White House, welcomed him to Michigan, and drawn criticism from some fellow Democrats for her willingness to work with the Republican president.
That relationship proved decisive on September 2. “Governor Whitmer spoke with President Trump today to ask him to direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to lift the stop-work order,” Bobby Leddy, a spokesperson for Whitmer, said in a statement. “The governor underscored the urgency of the moment, noting that invasive carp were recently found just 80 miles from Lake Michigan — farther up the Illinois River than ever recorded.”
Whitmer’s office said they received confirmation that work could resume. The White House referred questions to the Army Corps of Engineers, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Juvenile Carp Found Closer Than Ever
The urgency of the situation became starkly apparent in August, when the Illinois Department of Natural Resources discovered hundreds of juvenile silver carp, 4 to 6 inches long, in the Marseilles Pool of the Illinois River — the first time carp of that size had been found that far upstream since monitoring began in 2010. Bighead and silver carp are now within 47 miles of Lake Michigan, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
“If the species establishes in the lake, there is no getting it out,” officials in Whitmer’s office stated.
The invasive carp threat is not hypothetical. Four species of carp — bighead, silver, grass, and black — were imported from Asia in the 1960s and 1970s to clear algae from Deep South sewage ponds and fish farms. They escaped into the Mississippi River system and have been moving north ever since. A single female can produce a million eggs or more, and the fish can grow up to 100 pounds, out-competing native species like walleye, perch, and lake whitefish for food and habitat.
Pritzker’s Separate Push
In stark contrast to Whitmer’s approach, Pritzker has taken a confrontational stance. In a September 2 letter to Trump, the Illinois governor demanded the project resume, writing: “The Great Lakes should not become collateral damage in political games. The Brandon Road Project is critical infrastructure designed to stop the spread of invasive carp, and the people of Illinois deserve answers as to why Donald Trump is putting partisanship ahead of protecting one of America’s greatest natural resources.”
Yet even after Michigan officials received word that the stop-work order had been lifted, officials in Illinois — where the project is located — had not been notified of the decision, raising questions about whether the project could remain in flux. “Despite the Brandon Road Interbasin Project being in Illinois, the state has received no new communication from the Trump administration,” Matt Hill, spokesperson for Pritzker, said. “You would expect if the administration really cared about protecting the Great Lakes they would notify Illinois.”
What’s at Stake
The episode underscores not only the unusual cross-party relationship Whitmer has cultivated with Trump, but also the top-down and relationship-driven nature of his administration — where direct phone calls and displays of deference to the president remain the best way to get things done.
For the Great Lakes region, the stakes could not be higher. The Great Lakes fishing industry is valued at $5.1 billion, and the broader Great Lakes economy supports an estimated $8 trillion in economic activity. The Brandon Road project is not slated for completion until 2032, leaving a narrow window of opportunity to stop the carp before they establish themselves in the lakes.
Environmental advocates have warned that every delay brings the threat closer. “Invasive carp are a clear and present danger to the Great Lakes environment and economy,” said Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. As the project resumes, the question remains whether this latest work stoppage was an anomaly or a preview of continued uncertainty ahead.