Military Road Upgrade Project
by Robert StegerEditor, The Daily News;
There are plans in the works about "upgrading" Military Road. I understand the road is to be widened by 10 feet and a ditch placed on both sides, this means that a lot of trees will be removed, especially in the area of #7125, #7124 and #7110.
My concern is that there are only a few of these roads left.
The Military Road has a historic significance. A National Heritage Scenic Byway, it once was called the Lake Superior Trail, which was used since ancient times by the Indians to travel back and forth between the Northcountry and the areas of present-day Chicago and Milwaukee. The trail became known as Military Road during the War of 1812,when it was used to supply a fort on Lake Superior.
Portions of Military Road are in need of repairs, but there is no need to widen the road.The areas that need repairs are where there is poor drainage and soft subsoil, the pavement keeps breaking up. I believe some of these sections could be raised a few of feet and a firm subsoil applied would suffice.
The National Heritage Scenic Byway should be kept intact as much as possible. If trees are cut down for the widening of the road, the area will lose some of its appeal and tourists will go elsewhere. To keep tourism, we have to keep our trees.
Please keep our beautiful tree-lined gateway to the Northwoods intact.
I own the property at #7125 Military Road.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Letter to the Editor - Rhinelander Daily News
Friday, February 23, 2007
Locals Rally to Preserve Historic Military Road
Organizers Evan Cestari or Glenn Helkenn can be contacted at: 715-546-3388 or savelakesuperiortrail@hotmail.com.
-###-
Do these plans look sensible to you?
Below are photographs of a map drawn up by MSA, the engineering firm that designed the redevelopment. The first photograph shows the key to the map in which the squiggly green lines represent the current tree line, the dotted green lines represent how far the trees will be cut back, and the black dashed lines indicate the proposed right-of-way.
As the maps clearly show, we're not talking about just "12 large pines" being cut. The number is likely to be in the hundreds if not thousands, including old-growth trees that were here when Military Rd. was a dirt trail walked by Indians. What's more, many of these pines are on private property. Yes, we're talking front lawns here that will have scenic trees replaced with a roadway that will often be so close to the road that a homeowner could probably spit on it from his house if so inclined.
Is it any more obvious?
Oh, and by the way the above illustrations are hardly an anomaly. They represent only a small picture of what will be done along the whole road.
If you don't believe it come see for yourself. We will have the full map at the March 1st 6:30 meeting at the Three Lakes Town Hall so everyone can see for themselves what this reconstruction will mean.
Response to Three Lakes News Editorial
...
The historic purpose of Military Road that runs just east of Three Lakes was to provide an efficient, safe transportation corridor through the forested North Woods, which is precisely why the Three Lakes Town Board should stick to its guns with reconstruction of several hazardous stretches as part of an 8.5-mile road improvement project.
We don't support cutting down old-growth red and white pines without good reason, but there is hardly a better reason to do so than when acting in the name of public safety.
Military Road is shared by school buses, massive logging trucks, dump trucks, delivery vehicles, large sport utility vehicles and the like. Certain stretches of the road, such as the hills and curves near Teaching Drum Outdoor School, are dangerously narrow.
That are of Military Road (also called Forest Road 2178) is also treacherous because of poor drainage, which has resulted in potholes and hazardous driving conditions ; thus the need for widening of the roadbed and some ditching, which will keep wetland groundwater from deteriorating the roadbed.
Besides, this project is being funded with $1.7 million in federal funds and no town funds. Federal funding calls for certain construction standards as set by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. That's another reason why the town can't just patch up certain stretches without widening the roadbed.
While there is certainly an argument to be made about the adverse aesthetic changes due to the cutting of 12 large pine trees, we don't find credibility in the suggestion that wildlife habitat will be significantly impacted. The cutting is on too small of a scale.
With some pine trees just a foot or two off the pavement, a school bus and a large logging truck can barely pass on the hill just south of Teaching Drum Outdoor School. That is a transportation hazard that the school district, its parents and its students cannot tolerate.
The other good news about cutting roadside pines is the opportunity for sunlight to reach the roadway in winter, which might reduce the snow and ice buildup that makes certain stretches of Military dangerous.
From a historic perspective, Military Road was designed for transportation. It was not designed as a scenic byway or tourism corridor, though it developed that reputation in the decades after the U.S. Forest Service created the Nicolet National Forest in 1933.
We support the town board's 3-2 decision because it is in the public's best interest to prioritize highway safety ahead of aesthetics. Records indicate that every property owner along Military Road and tribal governments were notified of the proposed reconstruction and invited to a public meeting in 2004. They didn't attend and the town board moved forward, now ready to seek bids.
Despite what the critics are saying, we don't believe the tree cutting will result in any adverse impacts to tourism. Though it may be slightly less scenic on some stretches, the improved road will fulfill the purpose for which it was built.
Behind the editorial 'we'
Editorials that appear here weekly are composed by Editor Kurt Krueger, and include input from Publisher Byron McNutt and Assistant Editor Gary Ridderbusch.
...
Letter to the Editor:
Military Road resident
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Editor:
This is in response to the Editor’s Opinion column in the February 21, 2007 issue, the topic of which was the proposed Military Road reconstruction. First I would like to commend this paper for providing a forum for discussion on past issues by encouraging dialogue, open-mindedness, and fact gathering. This is an especially wise and important policy in a small community with only one newspaper to serve all of its citizens.
Unfortunately, the Editor has decided early-on to take a stance on this issue. If it were a simple black-and-white case, that would be understandable. However, the Three Lakes Town Board’s 3-2 vote to keep the reconstruction plan as-is, reflects the fact that there is nowhere near consensus. There is a broad range of opinion, along with many unanswered questions. I would like to suggest that this newspaper could better serve the community by providing an open, objective forum for the gathering of facts and the exchange of information. The last thing we want to see is an emotionally charged, divided community, and taking sides could well fuel that.
Also unfortunate is the newspaper's decision to take an editorial stance before doing adequate research and interviewing to get the facts. Several points in the editorial appeared to be cases of misinformation becoming fact because enough people have kept repeating it. Here are several examples from the editorial:
"We don't support cutting down old-growth red and white pines without good reason: but there is hardly a better reason to do so then when acting in the name of public safety." In order to speak intelligently on this issue, we need facts and figures. And we have to recognize that we are actually talking about two safety issues:
1. Statistics prove conclusively that correcting dangerous intersections and blind corners improves safety.
2. Statistics also show that widened country roads lead to increased traffic and higher speeds, with a corresponding higher rate of accidents, no matter what the posted speed limit.
I haven't heard a single person speak against implementing point #1 on Military Road.
"While there is certainly an argument to be made about the adverse and aesthetic changes due to the cutting of 12 large pine trees (on the Teaching Drum Outdoor School property), we don't find credibility in the suggestion that wildlife habitat will be significantly impacted. The cutting is on too small of a scale."
Focusing on the Teaching Drum's trees is like giving attention to one polar bear while the rest of the species goes extinct. The fact is that many hundreds of stately trees are slated to be destroyed.
"From a historic perspective, Military Road was designed for transportation."
Here is an excerpt from an article by Edmuch Epeseth in the July 20, 1978 issue of the Vilas County News Review, which is taken from a research paper by local Eagle River historian Finn Lawler (on file with the Wisconsin Historical Society): "…developments in the course of the war between the states played into the hands of the promoters who made use of this propaganda to get their bill through Congress. The commissioners who let the contracts awarded three sections of timber lands for every mile built, and the selections could be made anywhere along the route within three miles of the course of the road except where the road ran through the Menominee Indian Reservation. Of course, the contractors employed the best cruisers available to as to make the best timberland selections. As it turned out, the whole setup was a giant conspiracy and one of the prize timber steals in American history.”
"We support the town board’s 3-2 decision because it is in the public's best interest to prioritize highway safety ahead of aesthetics." We can draw inspiration from many tourist and historical areas in the nation, who created a win-win situation by considering both safety and aesthetics in their planning.
"Despite what the critics are saying, we don't believe the tree cutting will result in any adverse impacts to tourism." The groundswell of reaction to this road plan says otherwise, and who are we to speak for the tourists? Why don't we ask them what they think?
Tamarack Song,
Three Lakes
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Myths about the road expansion:
Myth: This is a conflict between scenery and safety. We need to upgrade the road for the sake of human safety.
Reality: Military Road is one of the safest roads in the Three Lakes area. A comprehensive search of the Three Lakes Police Department files from the last 20 years showed only three (non alcohol or drug related) accidents anywhere on the road. Only three accidents in 20 years! All were relatively minor, no injuries were reported, and none were caused by conditions inherent to the road (the actual causes of these three accidents were: 1. a deer, 2. a bad tire, and 3. an ice/snow storm. Four additional accidents were reported in the last 20 years as being caused by intoxicated drivers.
In fact, widening & straightening the road will only serve to increase the speed of motorists, thereby making the road less safe, not more. The last thing we need is to expand and straighten Military Road so big logging trucks can fly along at greater speeds than they already do. The vast majority of accidents reported in the Three Lakes area were on Highways 32 and 45, where drivers can go much faster than on Military Road.
Another major concern expressed by numerous landowners along Military Road is that the expansion will actually put the road dangerously close to their homes and front yards, thereby endangering their children's playgrounds. Many of us come to the Northwoods to get away from such annoyances and dangers as high-speed traffic, now the Three Lakes town board wants to bring it to our doorsteps.
The citizens who have come together to preserve Lake Superior Trail are as concerned with safety as anyone, the real issue here is that not everyone's legitimate concerns are being addressed with fully informed public input.
Myth: What's the big deal? The road won't change that much after the expansion.
Reality: The current development plan & environmental assessment is a very revealing document. As it is currently conceived, this road expansion will involve the creation of ditches alongside the road, widening the road, straightening portions of the road, and taking down as many as a thousand trees (many of which are old growth trees which stood along "Lake Superior Trail" as it was being traveled by early Native Americans and Pioneers).
The shady forest canopy over the road will be lost in some areas. This will impact both the aesthetics of the road and the habitat of the endangered Pine Marten, which needs shadow in order to feel safe crossing open areas (The Pine Marten is actually Wisconsin's only endangered mammal, and is currently being reintroduced to areas of the Nicolet National Forest along Military Road's corridor).
The current environmental assessment for the road plan gives little serious thought to obvious scenic, environmental, and archaeological impacts, listing their effects simply as "none." A large number of known archaeological sites along the roadway are listed in the assessment as "not evaluated."
If this road expansion proceeds as planned, the unique scenic & historic character of Military Road will be forever lost.
Help Preserve a Local Treasure
On February 6th the Three Lakes Town Board voted 3-2 to proceed with the expansion of scenic, historic, and environmentally sensitive Military Road. Bids for the project will begin in May. Yet serious questions remain - questions that concern all of us and require the input of a fully informed citizenry.
Local folks are likely aware that this has been a big issue in the media recently, making front page headlines in the Rhinelander Daily News and feature stories on WXPR public radio and channels 9&12 news. See the links below for some of these stories:
http://www.rhinelanderdailynews.com/articles/2007/02/07/news/news01.txt
http://www.rhinelanderdailynews.com/articles/2007/02/10/news/news04.txt
http://www.wjfw-nbc12.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4502&Itemid=51
http://www.wjfw-nbc12.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4792&Itemid=51
Neighbors, local citizens, business owners, tribal leaders, historians, environmental advocates, and lawyers have all expressed deep reservations about the road development plan as it is currently envisioned.
Yet, making these concerns heard can be a daunting task when we are isolated and unorganized. That is why we are seeking your help to build a partnership - a Partnership to Preserve Military Road that will integrate our historical, environmental, aesthetic, and safety concerns into any development proposal. We have issued a press release announcing the formation of this Partnership and a meeting at the Three Lakes Town Hall on March 1 at 6:30pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
The intent of one person, when united with others of like heart, can move mountains.
- Attend the meeting at the Three Lakes Town Hall on February 21st at 6:30pm.
- Call or email us with your contact info so we can keep you updated as things develop.
- Talk to friends, family & neighbors. Do you know anyone who might be concerned about this issue? Anyone who might be able to help the cause? Let them know, share this post with them.
- Write a letter to the editor of your local paper expressing how you feel about this matter. (Also send us a copy for our files, if you would) Below are some of the emails for the local papers:
Vilas County News Review: erpub@nnex.net
North Star Journal: starjournal@jcpgroup.com
Contact Glenn or Evan at: 715-546-3388 or email savelakesuperiortrail@hotmail.com
