EDITOR:

Michigan’s sportsman and conservationists agree that invasive species are a threat to the health of the Great Lakes. Bi-partisan legislation has been passed for many years to control these problems and keep the lakes healthy for future generations. That has been money well spent. Our U.S. House Representative Jack Bergman stood up for the tradition of fishing in the Upper Peninsula’s when he was a co-sponsor of The Great Lakes initiative in 2024. Fishing is at the core of our local culture and tourism industry. Recent DOGE budget cuts have (without debate!) eliminated the positions with the US Fish and Wildlife Service that implements this successful program. These cuts have also halted efforts in Illinois to deter the upstream movement Asian carp from the Mississippi River. Representative Bergman hasn’t explained to us why the elimination of one of his signature achievements is justified.

Sea lampreys are an invasive species that entered the Great Lakes in the 1920s through shipping canals. This decades long program has been a success, with our natural species such as trout, salmon and walleye recovering. As a result of budget cuts implemented by Elon Musk, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff in Marquette and Ludington (with the expertise and experience of running this years long effort) has been eliminated. There is no staff to do the daily work in 2025 to control the infestation of our lakes by sea lamprey, Asian carp, zebra and quagga mussels, alewife and many more. This should concern everybody. It does not make any sense to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory of these successful environmental programs.

Jack Bergman put his own name on this legislation just a year ago as a sponsor. Was it just for politics? Non-elected officials such as Elon Musk do not understand the Great Lakes. He does not have the experience or knowledge necessary to justify these cuts or understand the devastating impact on our local environment. Infestations of non-native species are a threat to the traditions in our culture here in the Upper Peninsula. Nobody voted for Elon Musk. We did vote for Jack Bergman. He is supposed to fight for our best interest. We deserve an explanation. Many of us grew up fishing the lakes and in my life, there have always been fish to catch, because of the efforts to control invasive species. One single sea lamprey can eat up to 40 pounds of fish per year. Asian carp devastate the food sources needed for all native species of fish. Do we want to return to the days when there were no fish left to catch?

The residents of Escanaba deserve an explanation why the minimal short term savings of these cuts are more important than preserving the worlds largest freshwater ecosystem. I ask Jack Bergman to fight for The Great Lakes Initiative to preserve our most precious and magical resource: The Great Lakes.

Kevin Chown

Escanaba