THREE LAKES - Some residents in the Town of Three Lakes were outraged when plans to tear down thousands of trees on Military Road were unleashed.

But they didn't just sit back and watch it happen.

Military Road in the town of Three Lakes is one of the most scenic sights in the Northwoods.

But plans to make the road safer threatened it's preservation.



The first time Tamarack Song laid eyes on Military Road, he was intrigued.

Tamarack Song says "When I came down here, I looked and it felt like I was a little elf going into the forest because of the big trees and the canopy over head. And I said to myself, I made a promise, that if ever I'm going to live in this area, it's going to be on Military Road and here I am."

He's been living on Military Road for 20 years now. But when construction plans involving cutting down 2 to 3 thousand trees threatened to ruin the road he loves, Song and other Three Lakes residents stepped in.

Tamarack Song says "The road is important to us because it is alive. We see it as something that is a part of our lives."

Fred Wisner, the project manager for the Department of Transportation, says "The initial design was re-evaluated to determine if something different could be done, and as it turns out, we were able to do that."

Tamarack Song says that this road has a lot of meaning to him and many others who live on it, and as you can see right here behind me, this sign represents the fact that it's one of only two in the entire state that's a forest service scenic byway.

Tamarack Song says "This is a lightly traveled road. This is a historic road. It's a scenic road. It' has a heritage. This was an indian trail for probably thousands of years before we came along."

With only about 20 trees coming down in the new construction plans, everyone seems to be happy with the compromise.

Fred Wisner says "The Town of Three Lakes, the forest service, and the department of transportation, are extatic that it could be worked out and everybody's going to get a road that they really love and enjoy and we didn't have to change the characteristics of it."

For residents like Tamarack Song, the fight to preserve this road tucked away in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest was well worth it.

Construction is under way, and is scheduled to be finished in early September.

The speed limit on Military Road is 55 miles per hour right now, and will be reduced to 30 or 40 miles per hour when construction is done.