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This is an artist's rendering of a proposed chalet-style lodge at Mount Ashland ski area. Ski Ashland plan includes new lodge Plan shows revisions prompted by public reaction Chronology: Ski Ashland expansion 1986 -- Seattle's Harbor Properties, which bought Ski Ashland from a Grants Pass man in 1983, announces plans for expansion. 1987 -- A draft environmental impact statement containing five conceptual alternatives for resort expansion draws fire from city officials who fear impacts on Ashland's municipal water supply. 1990 -- Rogue River National Forest officials delay final environmental approval for Ski Ashland expansion, choosing instead to solicit public comment on a revised draft after opponents raise concerns about protection of wetlands and rare plants and development on the mountain's south side. 1991 -- Rogue forest officials unveil an expansion plan that includes three new lifts to serve The Knoll east of the current lodge and one lift to the west ending at the base of the bowl. 1992 -- After a regional effort to secure donations and development grants, the city of Ashland buys the local ski resort. 1994 -- Rogue forest officials express concern that new environmental rules mandating wetlands protection could doom the new lift planned on the west side of the mountain. 1998 -- Officials from Ski Ashland and the Rogue forest unveil specific plans for a new chairlift on the west side of the mountain with five new trails and a midmountain lodge and later decide plans have changed enough to require a new environmental impact statement. By BETH QUINN ASHLAND -- A midmountain chalet-style lodge where tired skiers and snowboarders could warm up while watching others swoop down the bowl highlights Ski Ashland's detailed plan for expansion. Helicopters would do most of the heavy lifting required to build the lodge and new 4,500-foot chairlift at the region's publicly owned ski area. And a 50-by-60-foot bridge would protect a sensitive wetland crossed by one of the new runs. Ski Ashland first unveiled a specific plan for expansion last April, but this week's announcement provides further details and includes changes based on early public reaction. "It's virtually all changes that were based on additional scientific and engineering work that was done over the course of the summer," said Jeff Hanson, Ski Ashland's mountain manager. "It really turned out to be more of an opportunity than a detriment." Specific changes include: A sewer line from the midmountain lodge to a new sewage treatment plant already approved by the Rogue River National Forest replaces the composting toilets and gray-water drain field originally proposed. The sewage treatment plant approval has been appealed to the regional forester by the Rogue Group Sierra Club, which fears contamination of the Ashland municipal water supply. Rerouting the westernmost run to avoid sensitive wetlands and stands of rare Englemann spruce, with a cedar-plank bridge spanning the stream at its narrowest point. Widening the access road at the existing lodge to provide additional parking for 198 cars. The scaled-back version of the original plan requires less fill and retains most trees. Concerns about sewage and wetlands have been voiced since Ski Ashland's former owner, Harbor Properties of Seattle, first proposed expansion in the 1980s. Critics have included environmental groups, Nordic skiers and the City of Ashland. In the latest go-round, the Rogue Group Sierra Club has taken the lead in criticizing Ski Ashland's plans and taken the heat for challenging a now publicly owned resort. "We really are not against expansion, and we are not against a bigger and better treatment plant. Those two pieces go hand in hand," said Charlotte Holzkamper, head of the Rogue Group. "Yes, it is your ski hill and it is your beautiful forest up there and it is your drinking water. Be very careful. Nobody wants to deny the skiing up there, but can't we talk about skiing in another place that isn't so harmful?" The Sierra Club would prefer to see development on The Knoll, an area east of the current lodge where the Rogue forest in 1991 approved up to three new chairlifts. Ski Ashland's Hanson said the $1.9 million saved for expansion would cover the cost of the new lift and ski trails but not the more elaborate work required to develop The Knoll. The resort has already spent $175,000 to buy a used quad-chairlift that would become the area's fifth major lift. Construction of the new lodge and expanded parking lot would depend on the success of a new capital campaign now under discussion by the resort's board of directors, he said. The stucco-and-stone lodge would include a 2,900-square-foot building housing restrooms, ski patrol and food and beverage services with seating for 80. Another 80 could be accommodated on a 1,450-square-foot terrace overlooking the mountain's challenging bowl. "It's a great spot," Hanson said. "It'll really blend in. It really fits the space. And it would really help disperse the crowds." Rogue forest planner Kristi Mastrofini said at least one public meeting on Ski Ashland's proposal will be held in the new year. A draft supplemental environmental impact statement should be ready by early May, with a final decision due in August. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA