Feds boost funding for Grand River restoration

Federal funding is expected to help with the construction of a proposed river barrier aimed at controlling sea lamprey access into the Grand River.

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 near downtown Grand Rapids.

The barrier is part of a Grand River restoration project and would deny sea lampreys access to more than 1,900 miles (3,058 kilometers) of 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.