Protecting The Great Lakes & Mississippi River From Each Other CHICAGO, IL (Associated Press) -

The Alliance for the Great Lakes says waterways connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds should be altered to stop the exchange of invasive species.

The environmental advocacy group reports that separating the watersheds is the only way to stop the transfer of some invasive species.

They include the voracious Asian carp that is within 50 miles of Lake Michigan.

The Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds aren't connected naturally.

Over a century ago engineers linked them through a complex network of canals and rivers to reverse the flow of the Chicago River and keep waste from Lake Michigan. © Copyright 2012, Associated Press