The work may have started, but the protests have not stopped.

Last Friday, environmental advocates gathered outside the Minnesota Department of Transportation District 4 Office in Detroit Lakes to speak against the removal of trees along the Lake Country Scenic Byway on Highway 34.

The tree removal project on the highway began at the end of January. But protestors against the removal are hoping that a final attempt at speaking against this project can preserve the rest of the foliage.

While the general public supports the first part of the project, which is to resurface the aging road, the second part involving tree removal is what caused the public pushback.

Protestors state the main problem was lack of communication between MnDOT and the general public. Now, as a last-ditch effort, the message was brought to MnDOT’s front door in the form of a peaceful protest.

Willis Mattison, a leader of the protests and a member of the Izaak Walton League conservation group, states that another course of action the environment groups are considering is to hire legal representation and challenge the project.

By — Mary Balstad