Invasive species could thrive in the Great Lakes due to cuts to federal funding, staff

The Trump administration’s efforts to cut spending could make it easier for invasive species to thrive in the Great Lakes. Advocates said that could devastate aquatic life in Lake Michigan and harm Indiana’s sport fishing and tourism industries.

To keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, Illinois, Michigan and the federal government planned to retrofit a major lock and dam near Chicago with a high tech system to deter fish.

But since the Trump administration paused grants for the more than $1 billion project, it’s been put on hold. Last month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Prizker said — if the federal government can't commit to the funding — Illinois will pull its funding too.

Asian carp have already been established in the Ohio, White and Wabash rivers in Indiana. While it's unclear how much Asian carp would harm native fish in the Great Lakes, the National Wildlife Federation said entering the Lakes could give them access to tributaries across the northeast U.S.

The administration also fired seasonal workers who spray pesticides to keep blood-sucking, invasive sea lamprey from reproducing.

Dan Boritt is the executive director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation. He said it's a small program that’s well worth the cost of protecting the Great Lakes' more than $7 billion fishing industry.

“Some of these cuts are not done with the scalpel they're done with. I mean, a sledgehammer might be generous, and the implications aren't always understood," Boritt said.

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He said sea lamprey decimated popular Great Lakes fish from the 1920s to the 1950s — and it could happen again.

Capt. Mike Schoonveld runs a charter boat on Lake Michigan in Indiana and is the executive director of Indiana's North Coast Charter Association. He said during part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission didn’t apply the pesticide.

“Just that two year window allowed the lamprey numbers to start to increase," Schoonveld said.

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission said in a press release, about 20 percent more lamprey were caught last year than the pre-pandemic three year average — from 2017 to 2019.

If sea lamprey kill off enough sport fish, Schoonveld said people may decide to spend their money elsewhere.

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.