When campers in the remote Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness look up on a clear night, they expect to see spectacular starry skies, the Milky Way, maybe even the Northern Lights. They don't expect to see a flashing red light from the top of a cellphone tower.
That's why Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is going to court today to try to block ATT's plan to build a 450-foot tower near the edge of the wilderness area on Minnesota's border with Ontario.
The envirinmental groupsays the flashing lights would be visible from several BWCA lakes and waterways.
ATT Mobility LLC counters that one tall tower rather than the alternative of two smaller ones would do the best job of extending cellphone service to residents and cabins east of the gateway town of Ely and allow paddlers in remote areas to call for help.
The trial before Hennepin County District Judge Philip Bush is expected to last most of the week. The case will hinge on whether the proposed tower would violate the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act. It lets citizens sue to protect to natural resources that are in danger of being impaired. Also at issue will be whether federal laws on wireless services trump state law.
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