Prominent environmental groups join fight against Osceola Bluffs development

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently considering whether to hear the case of the proposed Osceola Bluffs development overlooking the St. Croix River, after opponents appeal to the “court of last resort” in early December. A coalition of environmental groups has also filed a brief supporting the opponents, marking another expansion of the case, as it moves from the concerns of neighbors and local river advocates to include those of regional, statewide, and national organizations.

“Throughout the Riverway, being on the River itself, or on its banks, is overwhelmingly being in a natural and undeveloped waterway – in a natural viewshed, relative peace and quiet, and minimal intrusion of the modern world,” the environmental groups wrote. “That experience, if it is to exist for future generations, requires that the comprehensive protections provided by federal, state, and local laws be fully, faithfully and uniformly enforced throughout the entire length of the Riverway.”

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Ken Notes: Working in the Mississippi Region has led me to new understanding of the Bluffs Views and Development. In La Crosse there has been an long term effort to get the bluffs into land conservancies so the issue is minimized.