Following another unexpected and unexplained delay, construction on a project being built to block invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes is once again underway.
Since their introduction to the U.S. in the 1970s, invasive Asian carp have rapidly spread through the nation’s waterways, outcompeting native species and disrupting ecosystems. State and federal officials have prioritized blocking the fish from entering the Great Lakes system, with much of that effort coming down to a single project: The Brandon Road Interbasin Project (BRIP). The BRIP features multiple deterrents designed to stop the carp near a natural choke point located near Joliet, Illinois, U.S.A.
Construction on the project had finally begun in May 2026, but the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump issued a stop work order in July. State officials said they were puzzled by the order, which they only discovered after talking to contractors. With no official reason given for the pause, state officials and Great Lakes advocates urged the government to allow the project to resume.
After more than a month with no progress, the Trump administration lifted the stop work order at the beginning of September. According to the Associated Press, the order was lifted just hours after a call from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who stressed the urgency of the situation by pointing to the recent discovery of several hundred juvenile carp just 80 miles from Lake Michigan.
“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,” Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy told the Associated Press. “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.”
Regional officials, lawmakers, and advocates were quick to welcome the resumption of construction.
“Protecting the Great Lakes requires Republicans and Democrats working together. With invasive carp found just 80 miles from Lake Michigan, time is even more of the essence. Thank you to President Trump, Governor Whitmer, and my bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs for meeting the moment and getting this critical effort to protect the Great Lakes moving again,” U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan) said in a Facebook post.
This wasn’t the first time a personal intervention by Whitmer restarted work on the project.
Soon after Trump first took office, his administration placed a freeze on federal infrastructure funding. Uncertain if they would receive the Congressionally-appropriated funding needed to undertake the project, state officials declined to more forward with purchasing land for the BRIP until the president assured them the money would come through. After weeks of uncertainty, Whitmer visited the White House. Following the meeting, Trump told the media he was in full support of building the BRIP, issuing orders for his government to streamline work on the project.
“It’s a very expensive thing – it costs a lot … but we have to save Lake Michigan because these fish, they eat everything in their way, even the other fish. They eat everything. Are people endangered by the fish?” Trump said.
However, his administration halted work on the project in December 2025 for an administrative review. Work was again stopped for months, until another White House visit from Whitmer convinced the president to let the project resume.
“I’m working with Governor Gretchen Whitmer on trying to save The Great Lakes from the rather violent and destructive Asian Carp, which is rapidly taking over Lake Michigan, and all of the beautiful surrounds,” Trump said in March. “This is on top of everything else I am doing. Only ‘TRUMP’ CAN DO IT!”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was able to start construction in May, but several weeks later the project was again paused. Over a month later, a third intervention by Whitmer enabled the order to be lifted.
“The overwhelming response from the entire region shows that we are, and will continue to be, united in support of this critical project. People from across the political spectrum and throughout the Great Lakes came together to demand that this project move forward – the bipartisan Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, the Great Lakes states, anglers, boaters, skilled construction workers, environmental organizations, and countless fellow Great Lakers. That united response mattered, and now, construction is moving again,” Great Lakes Alliance President and CEO Joel Brammeier said in a statement. “We simply cannot afford any further disruption.”
