Environment & Climate Change

A bighead carp at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

Asian carp have been making their way up the Mississippi River system for years after escaping from fish farms and wastewater treatment ponds in the southern U.S.They’re knocking on the door of the Great Lakes, and a number of people are concerned about what could happen if carp become established in the region.In this five-part series, we’ll take a look at what officials are trying to do to keep the fish out, what might happen if carp get in, and why some people want to turn carp into a business opportunity.

Attorneys General urge Great Lakes, Mississippi split

Michigan Public | By The Associated Press

Published August 31, 2011 at 6:29 AM EDT

Attorneys general in some Great Lakes states want to cut an artificial link between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds that provides a pathway for invasive species, including Asian carp.

Attorneys general in the Great Lakes region want a multi-state campaign to cut an artificial link between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds that provides a pathway for invasive species.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the attorneys general invite their counterparts in 27 other states to pressure the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for quicker action.

The Corps is studying whether to separate the drainage basins in the Chicago area, where they were joined more than a century ago by construction of a canal. Zebra and quagga mussels have used the waterway to invade states farther south, and the Asian carp is threatening to migrate into the Great Lakes.

The Corps reportis due in 2015. The letter demands a faster timetable.