Federal government lawsuit accuses Wisconsin town of trespassing on tribal reservation

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to try to force a northern Wisconsin town to pay for failing to renew access easements on tribal land. U.S. Attorney Timothy O’Shea filed the action in Madison on Wednesday. The lawsuit opens another front in a dispute between the town of Lac Du Flambeau and the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The town established road easements within the reservation in the 1960s, enabling non-tribal residents to build homes within the reservation. The easements expired about 10 years ago and the town has never reestablished access rights with the tribe. The tribe barricaded the roads in January, prompting a lawsuit from 21 property owners.