Douglas County attorney Bob Eye is planning to serve the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration with a lawsuit in response to the permit issued by KDOT last Tuesday, which allows for the 32nd Street Alignment of the South Lawrence Trafficway.

The plan, which would pave through a 56-acre area of the Haskell-Baker Wetlands, also known as the Wakarusa Wetlands, has been a great source of controversy because of both ecological concerns and the potentially infringement of rights of Native American groups that consider the lands sacred for the atrocities that took place there.

One of the potential alternatives that has been considered is in exchange for paving through the area, an additional 300 acres of man-made wetland will be constructed. However, some say that the artificial wetlands would be just that, artificial, and fear that the species indigenous to the area may not take to the new land. They contend that the natural wetlands are still the best area for the species to live, while businesses in Lawrence contend that the Trafficway is vital to growth of the city and economy.

Eye has 180 days to dispatch his lawsuit, and for now it appears that the 20-year battle will continue to rage on.