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Expansion comment count: negative Sierra Club tallies reaction to Ski Ashland draft impact statement By Paul Fattig ASHLAND � Nearly 60 percent of the public comments on the proposed expansion of Ski Ashland are opposed, according to a Rogue Group Sierra Club tally. Released Monday, the count shows 58 percent against, 42 percent in favor of expansion proposals on Mount Ashland contained in a draft environmental impact statement by the U.S. Forest Service. "This tally of public comments shows a very significant change in the public�s views regarding the Mount Ashland expansion," said Tom Dimitre, a member of the club�s executive committee and project analyst for the Headwaters environmental coalition. "It is now clear that there is overwhelming opposition to the project," he added. "The tide has turned." Early last month, with about half the comments received, Ashland Ranger District officials had estimated that about 70 percent of the comments supported expansion. Comment deadline was May 4. No Forest Service officials were available for comment late Monday afternoon. But Jeff Hanson, area manager for Ski Ashland, wondered how the tally was reached. "Since we have heard from the Forest Service that there are more letters in support than in opposition, I question how they looked at it," Hanson said. "From looking at the letters and talking to people in the community, we have found tremendous support," he added. However, he noted that the main emphasis of the comments received by the agency should be the content, not the count. Club members say their tally revealed that 1,353 comments and petition signatures favored expansion, while 1,860 opposed it. Moreover, among the individual, substantive comment letters, 318 supported expansion compared to 364 opposed, according to the club. The group wants to work with the Mount Ashland Association to create a scaled-down proposal that would allow affordable expansion within the boundaries of the present ski area, said Charlotte Holzkamper, chair of the Rogue Group. The environmental group has led the opposition to the planned expansion. Proponents say the ski area needs to be expanded to provide more skiing space as well as upgraded ski structures. Opponents say the planned expansion threatens rare plants and would damage the fragile watershed which supplies the city of Ashland as well as cause serious erosion problems. The Forest Service is expected to make a decision on the expansion proposal later this year. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA