An icy crust on the Straits of Mackinac is melting into slush atop a shimmering, narrow waterway prized for its beauty and its role in supporting the local economy.
The fight over Line 5 in both Michigan and Wisconsin, where another section of the pipeline crosses the Bad River Reservation, could have sweeping implications for the power of states to regulate fossil fuels, for tribal sovereignty and for U.S.-Canada relations.
Some or all of these issues are bound to surface in the upcoming presidential election.
Both Wisconsin and Michigan are battleground states.
And in either place the debate over Line 5 could complicate election-year politics, particularly as candidates compete to eke out any advantage with voters they can find, whether on environmental issues, fossil fuel reliance or jobs.
Organizations:
U.S
Locations:
Mackinac, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Wisconsin, Canada