Do You Want A Cell Phone Tower In The Middle Of The Boundary Waters?

AT&T wants to build a huge cell tower in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. They say it will increase safety for campers and improve reception for locals. Opponents argue that a cell tower will ruin the pristine wilderness. A trial this week in Hennepin County will determine if it happens but what do you think?

A report in the Star Tribune says AT&T is planning a very large and noticeable tower.

The tower would include lights that would flash day and night and wiring to support it. With the height of the ridge, the top of the tower would reach 600 feet above the shore of nearby Pipestone Bay. By comparison, downtown Minneapolis' Foshay Tower stands 448 feet tall and Minneapolis' tallest building, the IDS Tower, is 886 feet. Most cell phone towers in the state are no taller than 199 feet.

Understandably, this does not sit well with fans of the BWCA.

“It may seem like a little thing, but it’s important to so many,” said Paul Danicic, executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. “It’s a big, beautiful wilderness, but this is a big tower, and our voice is for the beauty and the value of this place that is untouched by permanent human changes.”

I’ve canoed the Boundary Waters and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life so far. I loved it. I loved being away from it all. I loved the untouched beauty of it. But if I were in danger perhaps I’d wish my cell phone worked.

What do you think? Should there be a gigantic cell phone tower in the Boundary Waters?