Federal Court says "no" to closing Illinois canal to prevent Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan

A federal appeals panel has rejected a request by five Great Lakes states for an immediate order to close shipping locks on Chicago-area waterways and take other steps to prevent Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan. 

The three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday against the request by Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  The states were appealing a decision by a federal district judge in Chicago last December. 

The states have a pending lawsuit that calls for closing the locks and quickening an Army Corps of Engineers study of whether to permanently sever the man-made link between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.  

 It says the locks could provide a pathway for the carp to invade the lakes and disrupt the food web.