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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 28, 2004 The Forest Service has removed its final hurdle for allowing the long-planned expansion of the Mount Ashland ski area, but opponents are considering taking the case to court. Ski area gets green light The Forest Service removes the last barriers to the ski area’s environmental impact process, but court action could follow, opponents say By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune The U.S. Forest Service has rejected administrative appeals to the Mount Ashland ski area expansion final environmental impact statement. The move, announced in letters sent to the 28 appellants by regional forester Linda Goodman on Thursday, ends further administrative appeals. As a result, it removes potential administrative barriers to moving forward with the expansion project of some 71 acres at the community-owned Ski Ashland facility. However, an appellant says those opposed to the proposed expansion are considering legal challenges. In her letter, Goodman affirmed the record of decision made in September by Scott Conroy, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest supervisor, in approving the final impact statement. Advertisement The administrative review included a review team led by another Northwest forest supervisor as well as agency specialists from throughout the region. After studying issues brought up in the appeals, the team recommended that Goodman, head of the agency in Oregon and Washington, affirm Conroy’s decision. The appellants, whose concerns included potential environmental damage to the watershed as well as the financial viability of the ski area, had requested that Conroy’s decision be withdrawn. "This paves the way for them (Ski Ashland) to go ahead, with the exception of potential legal action," said agency spokesman Rex Holloway. The decision brought welcome relief, said Jeff Hanson, Ski Ashland general manager. The positive regional review on top of studies already completed by Forest Service specialists demonstrates the proposal is sound, he said. "We’re real pleased," he said of Goodman’s decision. Expansion work could start in the summer, beginning with watershed restoration projects, he said. However, a major fund-raising effort will be started by the nonprofit group before construction work begins in 2006, he said. In an earlier interview, he estimated expansion could cost up to $10 million. Meanwhile, the appellants are mulling over their next step, including legal action. "It’s being discussed," said Tonya Graham, executive director of Headwaters, one of the appellants. She said she wasn’t surprised by Goodman’s decision. "Throughout this process it’s been clear the Forest Service is pretty much in support of development of middle branch area," she said. The final impact statement permits expansion by 71 acres of ski and snowboard runs largely in the middle branch of the east fork of Ashland Creek, allowing two new chairlifts and two new surface lifts. It calls for cutting nearly 2 million board feet of timber on 68 acres, widening seven ski runs and building a quarter-acre tubing run in the southern section of a special-use permit area atop Mount Ashland. The expansion would create 16 new runs, two for expert skiers and the rest for novice to advanced intermediate skiers. The decision authorizes the creation of guest services buildings and a yurt and increasing parking by 220 spaces. The expansion would affect 40 acres in the 9,459-acre McDonald Peak roadless area. 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