Victory for Sierra Club and the St. Croix River

A plan to build a new bridge spanning the St. Croix wild and scenic river between Minnesota and Wisconsin was shot down by the National Park Service last Friday. The park service said the bridge would "fundamentally change the scenic qualities that existed when the St. Croix was designated a wild and scenic river in 1972". The wild and scenic river designation gives the St. Croix special protection.

In 2005, the NPS gave approval to build the new mega highway over the St. Croix River. The Sierra Club, filed suit, claiming the four-lane, freeway style structure proposed would adversely affect the remarkable qualities of the St. Croix river.

The National Park Service's decision comes after a federal judge in March struck down the agency's approval of the bridge. The park service was then ordered to complete another evaluation of the proposed project. To read more about this issue, click here.

Photo courtesy of Macalester.edu

Comments

[James Beer]

I hope the existing lift bridge collapses into the St. Croix River, then it's no more bridge over the river between Stillwater and Houlton