Stopping invasive species like the sea lamprey is key to restoring native fish and revitalizing the Grand River.
It’s a project partnering the city of Grand Rapids and nonprofit Grand Rapids WhiteWater.
Matt Chapman is its executive director.
“The Sixth Street Dam is the first and largest barrier to invasive lamprey on the Grand River. Obviously, the structure as it exists today is well over 100 years old and there's a lot of safety issues with that structure. So, we can't just remove that and let these lampreys get upstream.”
The $2.1 million in federal funding from the U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission supports construction of a new sea lamprey barrier one mile upstream from the existing Sixth Street Dam.
Mark Gaden is the commission’s executive secretary.
“We're trying to keep the sea lampreys out of the river in the first place, because if they're allowed upstream of this dam, you could see an expansion of about 4,000 miles of habitat, not just on the ground, but it's various tributaries. And that would allow probably hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million, new lampreys to enter Lake Michigan, and they'd make their way over to Lake Huron.”
Chapman is anticipating federal funding approval for work downstream on what’s called the Lower Reach Project.
“We have our EGLE permits, our construction permits, and approval from FEMA. So, everything's ready to go as soon as that last federal review comes in. Next summer, we'll have equipment in the river, hopefully.”
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