U.S. federal funds expected for Lake Michigan sea lamprey barrier

U.S. federal funding is expected to help with the construction of a proposed river barrier aimed at controlling sea lamprey access into a western Michigan waterway.

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission expects a $7 million increase to its annual budget that would help pay for the barrier in the Grand River.

The barrier is part of a Grand River restoration project and would deny sea lampreys access to more than 3,058 kmof new stream habitat.

The adjustable hydraulic structure would be upstream of a dam that currently serves as a barrier to the eel-like parasites that attack fish such as trout, salmon and whitefish. They invaded the Great Lakes in the last century and decimated native fish until a poison was developed that brought them under control.