Area residents in Big Bay and Marquette are petitioning the Marquette County Road Commission to minimize the removal of trees along the right-of-way to County Road 510 and County Road AAA for the creation of a Class A Highway to the Lundin Eagle Mine in Northern Marquette County. Lundin Mining Company is

matching state funding for the Category A project, which includes altering a stretch of the Triple A (from the mine gate to where CR595 would have ended) on Lundin property. For other portions of Triple A, the Road Commission will be purchasing right of way and may have to exercise eminent domain in order to implement their plans to widen and straighten the road. Construction on these roads along with the work on County Road 550, will allow Lundin to haul ore from the mine on the Yellow Dog Plains to the mill in Humboldt. The total cost for the 550-510-Triple A updates is close to $45 million, not counting state funds for some of the bridge work.

The natural environment in Northern Marquette County attracts tourists and year-round inhabitants who come to escape and experience its remoteness, to visit camps, and/or to hunt and fish. Rural roadways bounded by wild vegetation are part of the aesthetic that many appreciate. Future changes to the Triple A and CR510 will take place within a 100-ft right-of-way, meaning the Road Commission could clear 50 ft on each side of the centerline. Concerned citizens are requesting the minimal removal of trees to preserve the natural wild aesthetic. Specifically, they request to leave trees and flora from ditch edge of the road construction to farthest edge of the Right of Way along CR 510 and Triple A.

Petition is available online here:

http://chn.ge/15Nsh38