$8m grant to stop Great Lakes invasions

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is distributing $8 million to universities and nonprofit groups for scientific research to prevent exotic species invasions in the Great Lakes region.

Officials said Tuesday the money is being divided into 21 grants. Some of the funded projects will focus on prevention and early detection, while others will deal with controlling species invasions already under way.

Michigan State University, Notre Dame and the University of Toledo are receiving grants to refine techniques that signal the presence of foreign fish and other organisms by detecting their DNA in the water.

DNA from Asian carp has been found in Chicago-area waterways near Lake Michigan and in Lake Erie. Questions remain about whether the genctic material came from live fish -- and if so, how many.