Work crews have been clearing hundreds of trees along Highway 24 near Clearwater Lake to make way for widening the narrow road. But they haven’t touched one special tree that grows along Warner Creek and houses an eagles’ nest. Clearing work began last week on the Minnesota Department of Transportation project to make the highway safer by widening its two-foot shoulders between Poplar Avenue in Annandale and Wright County Highway 7 near Clearwater. The $14-million upgrading will also widen ditches and flatten their slopes, add right and left turn lanes at some intersections and reconstruct the asphalt surface. The 12.6-mile stretch of highway is closed to through traffic, which is being detoured along County Highway 7 east of Annandale until work is completed in late November. Local residents and business people are being allowed to drive through the work zone. Ken Kingsbury, who lives across the highway from Clearwater Lake, watched Thursday, June 21, as workers and heavy equipment made short work of trees in the right-of-way. It’s a shame that the trees have to go, he said. "This was a scenic drive, but after they get done it won’t be anymore," he added. Kingsbury suggested the trees being taken out might number in the thousands since the clearing operation extends all the way to Clearwater. "The only good news is they say they’re going to get it done this year." The heaviest part of the clearing and "grubbing," or stump removal, appeared to be from the bridge at Warner Creek and Wright County Highway 6 about three miles north of Annandale to the east junction of County Highway 39. A wide swath of trees has been removed on the east side of the highway, and large areas at the corners of 6 and 39 have been flattened. As Kingsbury watched, a cutting machine called a Hydro ax grabbed small and medium-sized trees in its claws and sliced them off in an instant with its large round blade. Then a large machine dragged several trees at a time to a chipper, which chewed up even huge logs and spat the pieces into a semi trailer. Project supervisor Micky Klasen said clearing should continue for another week if the weather remains good. About 30 acres of trees are being cleared along the entire route, he said, but MnDOT doesn’t actually count the trees. Another clearing crew was working at the north end of the highway, he said. With wider shoulders and flatter slopes, construction will extend out farther than the existing road, Klasen said, so it’s necessary to remove trees there. Utilities were being relocated along the corridor and pavement was being ground up and left to be used as base material at several locations along the highway, he said. Eagles’ nest Wanda Piepgras, who lives at Indian Lake, complained in an e-mail to the Advocate that her 17-year-old daughter, Tracy, was upset that trees near County Highway 6 where eagles have nested had been cut down. But John Mackner, MnDOT environmental coordinator, said Friday, June 22, that a large maple tree along Warner Creek and a nest in it are still there. The tree and nest are about 130 feet from the right side of the bridge over the creek, he said, beyond the MnDOT right-of -way. The Advocate later confirmed that tree is still standing and the nest is still in its upper branches. Eagles, an endangered species, and their nests are protected by federal law. Though the nest must be left alone, Mackner said he’s seen no eagle activity there this year. He’s been watching it on a monthly basis since January because of reports from area people that eagles nested there last year or the year before. Two eagles came to that area in January and February and perched in the trees but weren’t interested in that nest, Mackner said. Fledgling They found another location farther north on the Clearwater River away from the highway and hatched at least one fledgling in April. "We don’t believe that our project has displaced those eagles," he said. They chose to go to the other site. "Their nesting season is way before we started our work out there." Piepgras said she remembered the tree being about 25 feet off the highway. She estimated she had seen an eagle in the tree probably within the last nine months. "I think we’re talking about two different trees and two different nests," she said. Piepgras added there’s another side to her concern about tree removal: Another daughter, Keri, now 21, was in a rear-end crash about five years ago at that location. She hit a car that had stopped in front of her because she had no place to go to avoid it other than a steep ditch. "So I balance everything with the fact that I understand there are some danger spots in that road as well."
