A petition has been submitted to the Richmond Town Board, by a private landowner, to abandon the portion of 112th St. that currently provides walk-in access from the cul-de-sac in the Waldroff Meadows subdivision along the northern boundary of Ten Mile Waterfowl Production Area. This access is currently the ONLY safe location that the public can use to access the northeast portion ( ~ 50 acres) of the WPA that is isolated by Ten Mile Creek. There is an access easement across private land from 120th St. to the northeast portion of the WPA, but provides only "Administrative" access or access to FWS only.

I (we) oppose the subject petition to discontinue/abandon a portion of 112th St. Town of Richmond, St. Croix County, Wisconsin. The abandonment request is an attempt to privatize a public roadway. The request for private use, should not outweigh the greater public good of providing access to public lands. Abandoning the road is inconsistent with the Wisconsin Public Trust Doctrine which provides that navigable waters such as Ten Mile Creek are held in trust by the state for the benefit of all the public. The petitioned abandonment would effectively preclude citizens from accessing a large segment of Ten Mile Creek. My (our) rights would most certainly be negatively affected as well as rights of the all the public to access these public lands should the discontinuance/abandonment petition be granted.