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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels October 13, 2004 Ski area gets a 'D' from environmental group By Emily Morris Tidings Correspondent The Ski Citizen's Coalition annual review of ski resorts environmental performance gave Mt. Ashland a D, the area's lowest score ever. A Mt. Ashland spokesman contends there are numerous flaws in the grading system. The SCC publishes a scorecard each year rating the environmental policies actions of ski resorts in the western United States. Resorts can earn points in 24 categories, with emphasis given to preservation of natural mountain environments. Mt. Ashland earned about half the possible points. Mt. Ashland's low score is mainly because of expansion plans that include removal of old growth forests and entering a roadless area. Their expansion plans affected their score one or two letter grades, said Jeff Berman, executive director of Colorado Wild, one of the participating groups. There are no points possible for watershed restoration projects, which are planned as part of the expansion. The SCC doesn't award points for restoration or mitigation measures, because it is trying to reverse damage already done, Berman said. The purpose is to discourage resorts from doing damage in the first place, he said. Mt. Ashland lost a significant number of points for affecting threatened or endangered species habitat, such as the northern spotted owl and northwest pacific fisher. They also lost a lot of points for not "using bio-diesel fuel in snowcats and other diesel equipment." Marketing director Rick Saul said that the resort will do that once a supply problem is solved. "Fantastic, but they have to actually use it to get the points" Berman said, "It is important to note however, that improvements don't happen overnight." Saul said that he thinks the SCC is doing a good thing by raising environmental awareness; but, he questions the credibility of the report. Saul thinks the score unfairly weighted because it only included deducted points for expansions after 1997; Mt. Bachelor received an A, but underwent extensive expansion prior to then, he said. Mt. Ashland's 71-acre expansion will be the first since the resort was built 40 years ago. In 2001 Mt. Ashland received a B on the score card, but that score was reduced to a C when the SCC became aware of a 2001 EPA letter that prompted a review of Mt. Ashland's score. According to the document, the parking lot expansion would cause potential risk to the water quality in the Cottonwood Watershed. The score card does not award points for environmental stewardship programs such as the Youth Services Program every summer. There was no possibility to win points for encouraging carpooling with incentives like a free pass, and running a bus system for customers and employees, Saul said. Saul thought points should be made available for things like the resort's aggressive recycling program. He also thought there should be a category to that gives points for something like Mt. Ashland's "brand new state of the art" oil and water separator that can clean up and reuse fuel spilled on the snow. Berman said that it is good to have programs that are environmentally friendly, but that is not uncommon. Mt. Ashland is a member of the National Sustainable Slopes Program, an association that sets environmental standards for resorts. Berman criticized the program and said it is often used as a tool to improve images rather than promote environmental protection efforts. Both men invited people to view their agency's Web site to judge for themselves. The SCC's reports can be found at www.skiareacitizens.com. Mount Ashland describes its environmental efforts on its Web site, www.mtashland.com. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams