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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.
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Letter to the Editor:
Military Road resident
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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
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