Cell tower lawsuit: Working for wild horizons

Map showing 450 ft. tower location and visibility on BWCAW lakes.

Imagine paddling and portaging hard all day through the wild canoe country along the Canadian border near Basswood Lake. You’ve worked hard to leave civilization behind and are rewarded by a beautiful campsite, not another person in sight. You start making dinner as the sun goes down, and then you look across the lake to the southern horizon.

There, you see the unmistakable blinking red lights of a cell phone tower, high above the tree-tops. It is a jarring sight and it rips you out of the wilderness and back to what Sigurd Olson called the “land of concrete and steel.”

To prevent such an impairment of the wilderness experience for thousands of wilderness visitors, the Friends filed a lawsuit on June 22, 2010 against AT&T Mobility to stop the construction of a 450-foot telecommunications tower 15 miles east of Ely on the Fernberg Road.

AT&T’s proposed tower would be located on an elevated ridge within two miles of the Boundary Waters. Because of the elevation of the site, the tower would loom approximately 600 feet above the surrounding wilderness landscape. It would be illuminated day and night with strobe and beacon lighting, and be visible for miles inside the wilderness area on several popular lakes, including Basswood, Fall, Ella Hall, Wood, and South Farm Lakes.

The Friends does not oppose expansion of cell service to the area that local residents have been asking for. We understand the need and would like the tower builders to examine alternative methods to providing service without affecting the BWCAW.

In April 2011, the Friends, represented by a pro bono legal team from Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, argued on behalf of the wilderness during a four-day trial in Hennepin County District Court. In August, the Court ruled in our favor, stopping the proposed tower while specifically allowing the 199-foot tower.

The campaign continues

Our work is not yet over on this issue. In October 2011, AT&T filed an appeal of the ruling. Their appeal seeks to not only turn over the ruling, but represents a broad assault on long-standing environmental protections in Minnesota. If successful, their appeal could open the door to such visual intrusions in beautiful Minnesota landmarks, such as our state parks, the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and Voyageurs National Park.

The Friends and our legal team from Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi will continue to defend our wild horizons throughout the appeal process. The appeal is expected to take about one year.

News:

• AT&T files appeal of cell tower ruling (10/1/2011)
• Friends win lawsuit against AT&T over proposed cell tower at edge of BWCAW – (8/3/2011)
• Lawsuit filed to protect Boundary Waters from visual impact of cell phone tower (6/22/2010)

Selected Media Coverage:

• Editorial: Good call for BWCA – Star Tribune, August 6, 2011
• Judge says no to 450-foot cell tower near BWCA, but 199-foot tower OK – Star Tribune, August 3, 2011
• Boundaries of true wilderness at issue in tussle over cell tower – Jon Tevlin column, Star Tribune, April 18, 2011
• A cell tower near the BWCA? – Star Tribune, April 10, 2011
• BWCA cellphone tower lawsuit heads to trial – Associated Press/Minnesota Public Radio, April 10, 2011

Resources:

• Original complaint (18MB PDF)
• Court ruling, August 2011
• Viewshed analysis study
• Map of site and affected lakes