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Ski Ashland EIS hits `all aspects' Forest Service awaits comments By PAUL FATTIG ASHLAND -- No matter what the final outcome of the controversial Ski Ashland expansion proposal, the Forest Service expects to end up in court. Those supporting the proposal and those opposing it have indicated they will take the agency to court if the outcome is contrary to their wishes, said Linda Duffy, ranger in charge of the Ashland Ranger District. As a result, the exhaustive 650-page draft environmental impact statement released Thursday for the Mount Ashland ski area expansion proposal is intended to comprehensively cover all aspects of the debate, she said. "But the decision to expand is behind us -- it is our role now to implement that decision," she stressed. She was referring to a 1991 decision by the agency to approve an expansion request by the Mount Ashland Association which operates the publicly-owned nonprofit facility. Because of new information that has come out since the original EIS and increased interest in the proposal, officials decided to create a new EIS. In the document, the three alternatives include no action, Ski Ashland's $3.3 million proposal and a scaled-back alternative which blends issues raised by the public and the Forest Service during its scoping process. The 45-day comment period on the draft EIS ends April 3. Tom Rose, Mount Ashland expansion coordinator for the Rogue Group Sierra Club which has been leading the fight against the expansion, said it's too early to be talking about lawsuits. The group had expressed concern about the expansion's impact on the watershed which feeds the city of Ashland as well as rare plants and the McDonald roadless area. "We're not considering any court action at this point -- that's way the hell down the way if it does happen," he said. "We intend to compliment them for the things they did right and point out the things they did wrong. "We hope this document contains new information that is candid," he added. "We hope the ranger district has done a top notch job with this." Nor were Ski Ashland officials talking about legal appeals or court on Thursday. Like Rose, they were poring over the thick document. The fact the agency agrees that the expansion should move forward is good news, said Jeff Hanson, area manager for Ski Ashland. The expansion would provide much needed novice and intermediate ski trails in a ski area known primarily for its expert level ski runs, explained Gene Landsmann, Ski Ashland marketing director. "People want different comfort levels -- it's very important to have those different products available," he said of the need for expansion. Increased chair lifts and facilities would also reduce crowding that sometimes occurs in the current ski area, he said. The Ski Ashland proposal would build a new chairlift serving more runs for novice and intermediate skiers. It also seeks to expand parking and build a 4,200-square-foot, mid-mountain lodge at the bottom of the area known as The Bowl. In the third alternative, the Forest Service looked at expanding the main lodge rather than building the mid-mountain lodge, called for eliminating one proposed ski-way across the bottom of the existing ski runs to the base of the new runs and changing where the parking would be added. The Ski Ashland proposal would expand the ski area by 71 acres while the third alternative would expand it by 63 acres. The agency has no preferred alternative, said Steve Johnson, a recreational specialist with the district. "The public comments will be very important to help us form a decision," Johnson said. "The ski area has been hoping to do this for about nine years. We are required to respond to their proposal." The document did not address recent predictions by some scientists that the Pacific Northwest faces a warming trend which will increase the average winter snow line by 1,100 feet in the next half century. Since the transient snow line is now around 4,500 feet, an increase of 1,100 feet would not have an impact because most the skiing is above that elevation, Johnson observed. However, the issue would be addressed in the final EIS, Duffy noted. Ski Ashland has spent about $200,000 providing data for the environmental review. The Forest Service has also spent nearly that amount on the exhaustive study, Duffy said. A final EIS and decision isn't expected until late this summer, Johnson said. "But that depends whether there are appeals or not," he said. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA