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CLEAR Temp: 82 °F Wind: NNW at 10 mph Friday, July 25, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 22, 2003 Forest Service drafts Mt. Ashland choice By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune The U.S. Forest Service’s preferred alternative in its second run at a draft environmental impact statement for Mount Ashland’s expansion proposal calls for 65 acres of new ski area. The agency’s preferred alternative for the long-debated expansion proposal by the Mount Ashland Association takes into consideration environmental concerns raised during the comment period following a draft statement issued in 2000, according to the new document being released today. The preferred action — Alternative 6 — addresses those issues by reducing effects to the sensitive mountain wetlands and the rare Engelmann spruce, Mount Ashland lupine and Henderson’s horkelia found high in the Ashland Creek watershed, the document said. The new draft impact statement was undertaken after the 2000 document, which didn’t contain a preferred alternative, drew some 1,500 comments, many of them concerned about the impact on the plants and the city of Ashland’s only water supply, which comes from the watershed. Advertisement In the preferred alternative, the new ski area would include new areas for both beginner and expert level skiers, largely on the western side of the mountain. Earlier expansion plans in that area had drawn the ire of some environmental activists. The preferred action is one of half a dozen alternatives, including no action, in the 1,000-page document. The document is a draft, not a final decision, stressed Steve Johnson, the agency’s project leader for the proposal. "We’re still at the draft stage," he said. "This is not a decision document. It (the preferred alternative) just indicates where the forest supervisors are leaning at this time." Most of the ski area is on the Rogue River National Forest’s Ashland Ranger District but a small portion is on the northern edge of the Klamath National Forest. The final decision could include elements of other alternatives, he said. "We’re going to shoot for a decision in the spring, but that’s highly dependent on amount and type of input we get," Johnson said. The expansion proposal began nearly two decades ago in 1985 when the ski area was privately owned. In July of 1991 the agency approved a programmatic master plan for ski area expansion. The ski association, which became a nonprofit, community-owned entity in 1992, submitted a formal expansion proposal in 1998. The ski area is leased by the Mount Ashland Association from the city of Ashland, which holds a special use permit for the ski area from the Forest Service. Like the Forest Service, it modified its original proposal, which is Alternative 2 in the draft impact statement. It is calling for 71 acres of new ski area, primarily in the western half of the permitted area. That area would include novice to intermediate terrain, and include some modification to existing ski runs. In addition, it would add two chairlifts and two surface lifts, a four-acre tubing facility, three guest service buildings, a yurt, additional night lighting, a maintenance access road, water and sewer lines and a parking area for 200 spaces. It would require 68 acres of tree removal and clearing four acres for a lift corridor and staging area. The ski area currently includes 123 acres of ski runs, four chair lifts, a day lodge, ski rental shop building, ancillary structures and parking area for up to 600 vehicles. About 27 acres are in beginner to intermediate-level terrain while 96 acres are considered in upper intermediate to expert-level terrain. A 60-day comment period begins Friday with the publication of a legal notice in the National Register. The deadline for commenting is Sept. 25. Comments can be sent by regular mail to: John Schuyler, acting ranger, Ashland District, 645 Washington St., Ashland, OR 97520. They can also be faxed to 541-858-2402. Comments can be sent via e-mail to comments-pacificnorthwest-rogueriver- [email protected]. Copies of the document will be available later this week in libraries in Ashland, Medford and Yreka, as well as Southern Oregon University. Limited copies also are available at the Ashland Ranger District office. The new draft statement is posted at www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue on the Web. Field trips to the Mount Ashland ski area are scheduled for Aug. 23, 27, 30 and Sept. 3, each beginning at 9 a.m. and ending around 3:30 p.m. An open house and public hearing are planned for September, although the date has yet to be decided. Inside the ‘preferred alternative’ The Forest Service’s preferred alternative would allow Mount Ashland ski expansion by: building 65 acres of new ski terrain, primarily on the western half of the permitted area. Ski areas for beginners and experts. constructing two new chairlifts and two surface lifts. widening six existing ski runs. add 200 parking spaces. clearing five acres for lift corridor and staging area. cutting trees on 65 acres. constructing a four-acre tubing facility and three guest services buildings and a yurt. Also, the association would add night lighting and power, maintenance access roads, water and sewer lines, storage tanks and an additional snow fence. Also included: watershed restoration projects including structural storm water control and placing material to reduce erosion. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times