Chainsaws are buzzing in Ashland County as crews start cutting trees along the 41-mile right-of-way for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 relocation, a very visible shift from years of hearings and filings to work on the ground. State regulators recently saw their permits upheld in a contested-case ruling, but the Bad River Band and environmental groups are still fighting in court and say judges could yet pull the plug on construction. With a county court hearing set for April and a separate federal shutdown order tied up on appeal, the next few weeks will determine whether those crews keep moving or are told to stand down.
Work begins, but main construction still down the road
Tree clearing along the new segment’s corridor began in late February, and early field activity has centered on staking, surveying and environmental monitoring, according to the AP. Enbridge has said publicly that it is ready to move into broader construction as federal approvals land, arguing the project will bring local contracting work and union jobs to the area. In its latest project update, the company also says it is coordinating environmental protections and community outreach as the timeline advances. Enbridge
Tribal and environmental concerns
State permitting records show the reroute would cross roughly 186 waterways and temporarily disturb about 101 acres of wetlands, numbers that opponents say are unusually high for the Bad River watershed. Tribal members told Urban Milwaukee they fear damage to wild rice beds, medicinal plants and hunting grounds if any spill reaches key tributaries. Critics also point to Line 5’s operating track record, noting that independent trackers and regional groups have tallied dozens of releases totaling more than one million gallons, and argue that history makes new construction in sensitive waters especially hard to justify. Wisconsin DNR • Midwest Environmental Advocates
Court fights and diplomacy muddy the schedule
The relocation is still tangled in overlapping legal disputes. In 2023, a federal order told Enbridge it must either reroute Line 5 off reservation land or shut that segment down by mid-June 2026, but the shutdown deadline is on hold while appeals play out. The case has also spilled into international politics: in filings and diplomatic notes, Canada has pointed to a 1977 transit-pipelines framework to argue that a shutdown would ripple across the border and affect energy supplies. Those legal and diplomatic crosscurrents are a key reason judges and regulators say they are proceeding cautiously as the case moves forward. WPR • Government of Canada
Jobs, capacity and what is at stake in the numbers
Enbridge says Line 5 currently moves about 540,000 barrels a day, or roughly 23 million gallons, of crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior and Sarnia, and that the reroute is intended to preserve that flow for regional refineries and propane producers. Supporters of the project point to an economic study by Capital Policy Analytics suggesting the relocation would support around 700 construction jobs at peak and generate about 135 million dollars in economic output for Wisconsin, figures cited in early company materials and local business coverage. Enbridge • WisBusiness
What happens next
A Bayfield County judge is slated to hear arguments in April over whether construction should be paused while state permit challenges continue, and a Seventh Circuit review of the federal shutdown order will shape what the longer-term future of Line 5 looks like in northern Wisconsin. If courts allow work to proceed, Enbridge says it will stick to limited pre-construction activity while final federal paperwork and monitoring plans are wrapped up. If judges decide to halt work, crews will have to walk away for now. Either path is expected to echo far beyond the cut trees in Ashland County, with implications for regional energy markets, tribal sovereignty disputes and cross-border diplomacy in the months ahead. WPR
