The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has promised a study of the invasive fish will be ready by 2015. The states worry that will be too late to keep the carp out from making their way into the Great Lakes. They've asked the U.S. Supreme Court to order a faster federal response.

The New York Times looks at how the invasive species is sometimes pitting neighbors against one another. For example, some states are pursuing legal action to build a barrier cutting off the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes, but Illinois is fighting back, saying that would leave Chicago unable to control floods and interfere with shipping.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will come up with a short list of options for blocking the spread of the invasive fish by the end of next year. The Corps had earlier said the process would take until 2015. Asian carp have already invaded the Mississippi River watershed. Officials hope to keep them from migrating into the Great Lakes.

A privately funded group continues work on a fast-track plan to stop invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. The group hopes to release its plan in January. The Detroit Free Press reports one of the options includes a series of barriers in the Illinois River to stop the destructive species from traveling from the Mississippi River through Chicago to Lake Michigan. Minnesota is part of a suit to force federal officials to speed up the effort to halt the fish before they spread further.

The Army Corps of Engineers wants authority to close the lock and dam at Minneapolis' St. Anthony Falls at a moment's notice if invasive carp are found nearby. Supporters of the idea include the Minnesota DNR and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who say stopping the migration of Asian carp up the Mississippi is needed to protect northern Minnesota waters.

The Obama administration's point man in the fight against invasive Asian carp says his agency is focused on protecting the Great Lakes. But he doubts the plan Sen. Amy Klobuchar is pushing is a viable way to keep the fish out of the upper Mississippi River.

A risk analysis by U.S. and Canadian researchers finds the food supply and breeding areas in the Great Lakes would allow Asian carp to spread rapidly. The report says just ten breeding females and a few males would be enough of a foothold for the invasive fish to populate all five of the Great Lakes.