PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The board of directors for Friends of Potawatomi State Park is speaking out after a group of citizens filed a civil lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, alleging the agency improperly removed trees and conducted road work at the park.
Potawatomi Advocates for Trees, Conservation and Heritage (PATCH) filed suit Friday, seeking a court order “to stop the agency from causing further irreversible damage” at the park. Among the work it cites as problematic:
- Roads widened by up to 10 feet, from 18-20 feet to 28 feet, to add designated bike lanes
- A 150-foot clear-cut swath through old-growth forest to “straighten” South Norway Road, destroying a winding, canopied corridor that has defined the park for nearly 100 years
- Removal of historic tree medians and road canopy across approximately 1.75 miles of park roads
- Tree clearing and soil disturbance within the 200-foot protected buffer zone of the Niagara Escarpment, home to state threatened and endangered snail species
- Removal of natural screening trees around parking lots
In a Facebook post Tuesday, the Friends group said, “Over the past several weeks, many who love Potawatomi State Park have reached out to us with strong feelings about the tree removal and road work currently taking place. We feel that the concerns visitors and residents have shared are legitimate, but given recent events, that it would be a proper time to share who the Friends are, what the role of the organization is and how we hope our community can move forward.”
The Friends do not design, approve, or oversee construction projects, and we are not responsible for the public planning process that accompanies them. Decisions about projects like the current road work, and the public input surrounding them, rest with the DNR.
In May 2026, the Friends Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution requesting involvement and information from the DNR related to future project design and planning initiatives. That resolution passed with 100% of the board approving. We are committed as an organization to try to bring Friends volunteers, the DNR and the public together for a discussion about future needs in the park.
It has recently been brought to the Friends of Potawatomi’s attention that the DNR construction project has become a legal matter initiated by a third party. The Friends of Potawatomi organization is not involved in these legal actions.
The DNR has not responded to the lawsuit and previously said it will not comment on pending litigation.
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