From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Feb. 23. 1989:

Construction of the Lawrence Riverfront Plaza was once again in the news today. Plans were afoot to ask a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order barring removal of cottonwood trees from the construction site of the planned factory outlet center. A local conservation group, Protect Our Eagles’ Trees (POETs), had filed suit in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., against the City of Lawrence, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Lawrence River Plaza Associates, a local arm of the Chelsea Group, the East-Coast-based developer of the center. Attorney Robert Eye, representing the group, declined to name any of the members of POETs. “Who they are is immaterial.,” he said. “The many citizens who are in it are concerned about the eagles, but are also concerned about retaliation. They understand there are a lot of people in Lawrence who have a great deal to gain or lose by this project.”