As the Washtenaw County Road Commission continues to clear trees from several roads where there have been serious accidents, a Dexter woman staged a protest there Monday morning hoping to stop the over 200 year-old tree from being cut down. Hours later, she was gone, and all that remained was a big stump and tree debris.

The Washtenaw County Road Commission is using a federal safety grant to cut downs trees in Dexter. The goal is to create a ten foot safety zone for drivers on Mast Road and North Territorial. But as 89.1 WEMU's Jorge Avellan tells us, some residents oppose the project.

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Leslie Panzica-Glapa tried to save a tree by standing next to it on Mast Road. She believes the tree was over two hundred years old and that it served as a home for animals. But her attempt didn't prevent the road commission from cutting it down.

“It is not just a tree, it's a living entity for a plant or whatever you want to call it. And do you know that these trees have a network underneath them and they all communicate with each other. It's been documented,” says Panzica-Glapa.

The road commission will cut down about 450 trees.

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— Jorge Avellan is a reporter for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him javellan@emich.edu