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Administration Plans Stepped-Up Fight Against Carp

The Obama administration says it will step up efforts to prevent Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes, even though closing Chicago-area shipping locks, as some in the region want to do, is off the table.

Officials on Thursday outlined the federal government's strategy for meeting the Asian carp threat over the next year. It follows up on a $78.5 million plan released last February that included strengthening electronic barriers on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which has been completed.

Among new initiatives will be refining the process of detecting the presence of Asian carp by testing water samples for their DNA.

Teams also will study 18 other places across the region identified as potential pathways for invasive species between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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