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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 30, 2004 Navickas sues over expansion By Bill Kettler For the Tidings An Ashland environmental activist filed suit Wednesday to halt the Mount Ashland ski area's expansion project. Eric Navickas' complaint, filed in U.S. District Court, alleges that the U.S. Forest Service failed to adequately disclose and analyze the environmental impacts of building new ski trails on 71 acres of forest adjacent to the existing ski area. Cutting 2 million board feet of timber to build the new ski runs will have "serious impact to (Ashland's) drinking water supply," Navickas said. His lawsuit came as no surprise to ski area managers. Navickas had declared his intent to sue at several public meetings, said Rick Saul, the ski area's marketing director. "We were anticipating this," Saul said. Navickas, who acted as his own legal counsel in filing the suit, further alleges that the Forest Service skewed its environmental analysis of the project to justify a decision that had already been made to expand the ski area. The final expansion plan, he alleges, is the same as that presented in the original application with only "minor variations." Navickas also alleges that the Forest Service failed to analyze an adequate range of alternatives for expanding the ski area. The suit asks the court to prevent the Mount Ashland ski area from expanding until the Forest Service complies with the National Environmental Policy Act. Linda Duffy, the Forest Service's Ashland district ranger, noted that the same arguments that Navickas makes in his suit were rejected by Forest Service regional managers when they denied his appeal of the final decision to expand the ski area. Duffy said the original decision to expand the ski area was made during an environmental review in 1991, and the 2004 document simply defines the scale and location of an already-approved concept. Saul noted that the Forest Service's original 2002 environmental review drew so much public comment that a completely new study was prepared over the next two years. "The 2004 document was strengthened by the quantity and quality of comments from 2002," he said. "We think the [final 2004 study] is a very sound scientific document." At least two local environmental groups, Ashland-based Headwaters and the Rogue Group of the Sierra Club, have also discussed the possibility of suing to halt the expansion. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress afsa studentloans home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms fasa student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation wholesale diamonds Currancy Exchange web conferencing Online Casinos Community Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams