There is a lot of information out there right now about the proposed SkiLink. If you're interested in learning more about how you can help stop the SkiLink, go to: www.stopskilink.wordpress.com
THANKS!
Dedicated to protecting the beauty and wildness of the Wasatch canyons, mountains, and foothills.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wasatch Interconnected by Congressional Fiat
Wasatch Interconnected by Congressional Fiat
A Wasatch Environmental Update by John Worlock
Listen to this update by clicking here or read the update below!
We’re having a difficult time adjusting to the week’s shocking news. We already knew that Talisker Mountain, the corporate owners of Canyons Resort on the back side of the Wasatch Range, was planning to build a gondola to carry skiers over the ridge from their resort, connecting with Solitude Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We had reasonably assumed that the usual public process of debate would ensue, and that the folks on the Salt Lake County side would have something to say about the project. The recent Wasatch Canyons Tomorrow survey revealed that the local users of the Cottonwood Canyons are in agreement with the Forest Service’s rule of no further ski area expansion, and further are sympathetic to the efforts of Salt Lake City’s Public Works, which is charged with protecting the precious watershed.
The shocking news is that four members of the Utah Congressional Delegation have secretly prepared and now introduced into Congress a bill specifying that the Forest Service should sell some 30 acres of public land to Talisker. These 30 acres would provide a corridor through the National Forest, on which Talisker could then build its series of towers without consulting the public or the Forest Service. Since the gondola would be on private land, Forest Service rules would not obtain.
It’s a cunning move, and reminiscent of the congressionally-mandated land swap that Snowbasin engineered in preparation for Utah’s Winter Olympics. Cunning, we say, and quite a bit underhanded.
Our congressmen and senators are firm in stating their conviction that the public and local officials must be consulted in any plans to create something like Wilderness on the public land. Such plans should not be dictated by Washington. But when it comes to commercial development, it seems that they think that Congress knows better than we do what we need. Our four wise men in Washington are Congressmen Bishop and Chaffetz, and Senators Hatch and Lee. All seem to have read Talisker’s press releases and thus have glowing things to say about how this project will elevate Utah into prosperity and into the first rank of the snowsport industry.
Please be ready to join Save Our Canyons in opposition to this commercially driven mistake!
A Wasatch Environmental Update by John Worlock
Listen to this update by clicking here or read the update below!
We’re having a difficult time adjusting to the week’s shocking news. We already knew that Talisker Mountain, the corporate owners of Canyons Resort on the back side of the Wasatch Range, was planning to build a gondola to carry skiers over the ridge from their resort, connecting with Solitude Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We had reasonably assumed that the usual public process of debate would ensue, and that the folks on the Salt Lake County side would have something to say about the project. The recent Wasatch Canyons Tomorrow survey revealed that the local users of the Cottonwood Canyons are in agreement with the Forest Service’s rule of no further ski area expansion, and further are sympathetic to the efforts of Salt Lake City’s Public Works, which is charged with protecting the precious watershed.
The shocking news is that four members of the Utah Congressional Delegation have secretly prepared and now introduced into Congress a bill specifying that the Forest Service should sell some 30 acres of public land to Talisker. These 30 acres would provide a corridor through the National Forest, on which Talisker could then build its series of towers without consulting the public or the Forest Service. Since the gondola would be on private land, Forest Service rules would not obtain.
It’s a cunning move, and reminiscent of the congressionally-mandated land swap that Snowbasin engineered in preparation for Utah’s Winter Olympics. Cunning, we say, and quite a bit underhanded.
Our congressmen and senators are firm in stating their conviction that the public and local officials must be consulted in any plans to create something like Wilderness on the public land. Such plans should not be dictated by Washington. But when it comes to commercial development, it seems that they think that Congress knows better than we do what we need. Our four wise men in Washington are Congressmen Bishop and Chaffetz, and Senators Hatch and Lee. All seem to have read Talisker’s press releases and thus have glowing things to say about how this project will elevate Utah into prosperity and into the first rank of the snowsport industry.
Please be ready to join Save Our Canyons in opposition to this commercially driven mistake!
Friday, September 16, 2011
An Open Letter to the American Fork City Council in Response to Snowbird CEO, Bob Bonar's Claims
The quote from Bob Bonar, CEO of Snowbird Ski Resort, in Friday Sept. 16, 2011 Provo's Daily Herald (click here for story) stating Save Our Canyons has "not bought into the multi-use concept" is grossly inaccurate and shows the shortsightedness of the resort as they continually fail to see their impacts on other users and the local recreation economy.
As a college student, I worked at Snowbird Resort for a few seasons valet parking cars for mostly out of state patrons at the Snowbird Center. I loved to ski and talk with the many guest who came to the resort, it was a pretty good gig. However, as I grew, so too did my sense for adventure. Riding on chair lifts one starts to drool at the terrain just outside of the ski area boundary. A few short years later, I was given a pair of snowshoes as a Christmas gift, and White Pine Canyon became my go-to destination. Hiking up in my boots with the snowshoes precariously attached and a board on my back, I learned (and still am learning today) the art of powder skiing in an uncontrolled environment. A few years later, I traded the clunky snowshoes for a circular saw, a Voile Split kit, and a pair of climbing skins which allowed me the freedom to easily get further and further in to the now crowded Wasatch Backcountry. Still, I remained a patron of Snowbird as one can never stop honing their skills in a controlled environment.
I am grateful to Snowbird, every time I descend into one of the powder-lined canyons of the Wasatch, they are partially responsible for the love affair that has formed between me and the Wasatch. Of course, the other seasons of the year provide one with endless opportunities to hike, backpack, climb, bike, fish, photography, view wildflowers and wildlife and many other activities at resorts. These are the things we would like to keep, to enjoy, and to share with our friends and family members. Save Our Canyons does not take issue with recreation at the resorts, we take issue when the resorts develop, alter the landscape and our alpine vistas and take away from others the many uses and experiences that millions of visitors each year seek out.
In numerous conversations between us and Bob Bonar he has stated he intends to have resort skiers flood into White Pine Canyon, via his new tram to the American Fork Twin Peaks. White Pine Canyon is the sole public access point for backcountry recreation in Little Cottonwood Canyon during the winter months. Part of alpinism is looking out for other users around you. Snowbird’s expansion to the American Fork Twin Peaks is a blatant disregard for other uses in the area and is a slap in the face to the alpinistic ethic. For them, it is another peak conquered, altered, a few more lift tickets and condos sold. To us, it is the permanent loss of an icon, a destination, and a tradition going back long before Snowbird ever erected its first lifts or building. We wholeheartedly embrace multiple recreational uses of the Wasatch. If history has shown us anything with ski area expansion it is, first come the lifts, followed by the buildings. It is Snowbird’s self-centered definition of multi-use, which is inclusive of condos, restaurants, roads, parking lots, rollercoasters suited for an amusement park, and the never ending creep of resort expansion that comes at a loss to the many other users that we are struggling to buy into.
As a college student, I worked at Snowbird Resort for a few seasons valet parking cars for mostly out of state patrons at the Snowbird Center. I loved to ski and talk with the many guest who came to the resort, it was a pretty good gig. However, as I grew, so too did my sense for adventure. Riding on chair lifts one starts to drool at the terrain just outside of the ski area boundary. A few short years later, I was given a pair of snowshoes as a Christmas gift, and White Pine Canyon became my go-to destination. Hiking up in my boots with the snowshoes precariously attached and a board on my back, I learned (and still am learning today) the art of powder skiing in an uncontrolled environment. A few years later, I traded the clunky snowshoes for a circular saw, a Voile Split kit, and a pair of climbing skins which allowed me the freedom to easily get further and further in to the now crowded Wasatch Backcountry. Still, I remained a patron of Snowbird as one can never stop honing their skills in a controlled environment.
I am grateful to Snowbird, every time I descend into one of the powder-lined canyons of the Wasatch, they are partially responsible for the love affair that has formed between me and the Wasatch. Of course, the other seasons of the year provide one with endless opportunities to hike, backpack, climb, bike, fish, photography, view wildflowers and wildlife and many other activities at resorts. These are the things we would like to keep, to enjoy, and to share with our friends and family members. Save Our Canyons does not take issue with recreation at the resorts, we take issue when the resorts develop, alter the landscape and our alpine vistas and take away from others the many uses and experiences that millions of visitors each year seek out.
In numerous conversations between us and Bob Bonar he has stated he intends to have resort skiers flood into White Pine Canyon, via his new tram to the American Fork Twin Peaks. White Pine Canyon is the sole public access point for backcountry recreation in Little Cottonwood Canyon during the winter months. Part of alpinism is looking out for other users around you. Snowbird’s expansion to the American Fork Twin Peaks is a blatant disregard for other uses in the area and is a slap in the face to the alpinistic ethic. For them, it is another peak conquered, altered, a few more lift tickets and condos sold. To us, it is the permanent loss of an icon, a destination, and a tradition going back long before Snowbird ever erected its first lifts or building. We wholeheartedly embrace multiple recreational uses of the Wasatch. If history has shown us anything with ski area expansion it is, first come the lifts, followed by the buildings. It is Snowbird’s self-centered definition of multi-use, which is inclusive of condos, restaurants, roads, parking lots, rollercoasters suited for an amusement park, and the never ending creep of resort expansion that comes at a loss to the many other users that we are struggling to buy into.
Sincerely,
Carl Fisher
Executive Director
Save Our Canyons
Executive Director
Save Our Canyons
Monday, August 1, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
SNOWBIRD’S AMBITIOUS EXPANSION PLANS
By Save Our Canyons President, Gale Dick** IMPORTANT UPDATE (5/11/11): Snowbird will be hosting a Master Development Plan Forum on Thursday, May 12th at 6:30pm in the Cottonwood Room at Snowbird Center. We HIGHLY encourage you to attend, participate, and ask questions.
Readers of our alerts have doubtless heard of Snowbird’s ambitious proposal to expand their ski terrain on the south side, the American Fork side, of the ridge, into Mineral Basin and Mary Ellen Gulch. The Forest Service has agreed to undertake a study of the environmental consequences of this proposal. We were taken aback, as we have understood that the official Forest Service Plan specifically rules out expanding ski-resort operations onto public land. The agreement to study the proposal under the provisions of the National Environmental Protection act does not imply a formal approval of the plan, as was pointed out by Forest Supervisor Brian Ferebee. But it seems that the proposal could have been rejected summarily (as we stated in a 2/25/11 letter to the Forest Supervior), and that spending the effort on an Environmental Impact Statement signals a strong leaning toward a positive outcome for Snowbird’s proposal. In the past, it has often happened that an EIS proved to be an expensive and circuitous path leading to a Forest Service decision that favors developers and is impervious to appeals according to a doctrine of “deference to the agency”, which counters objections by more or less saying that if the Forest Service says it, it must be true.
The centerpiece of Snowbird’s plan is a new tram, stretching southeastward from the terminus of the present tram on Hidden Peak to bring skiers to American Forks Twin Peak, from which they could access the terrain in Mineral Basin. Details are few and far between, but likely the terminal facility at the top of Hidden Peak would be expanded, as this has also been a long-time dream of the Snowbird folks and they have gained approval for an expansion.
The April 23 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune published an article by Bob Bonar, Snowbird’s General Manager and President. Bonar, of course, depicts his resort’s updated Master Development Plan in a very favorable light. That is his job. His article, however, raises a number of questions that are bound to trouble many friends of the Wasatch. Here are a few:
§ The article is titled “Snowbird Expansion Won’t Effect Water Quality”. First, ski area expansions outside of the SLC watershed aren’t automatically “watershed friendly”. American Fork Canyon is in Utah County’s watershed. Also, access to the newly accessible resort skiing areas will be through Little Cottonwood Canyon. More people in a canyon leads to more human impact on that watershed. Further, stating that Snowbird’s expansion won’t affect water quality is, as yet, just a hopeful assumption, not a statement of fact. It is a question that must be evaluated as rigorously as possible in the upcoming EIS.
§ The article states that Snowbird is not proposing and lifts in White Pine Canyon and that’s true enough. It goes on, however, to state that although there would be a low-capacity tram to the American Fork Twin Peaks, Snowbird would plan to limit access to White Pine Canyon. Elsewhere Bonar has said that this limit would be to an “acceptable number”. Zero is the acceptable number Save Our Canyons would like to see. Zero is also the number of lift skiers that the Forest Service found to be acceptable a decade ago when it denied the resort’s proposal for a lift called “Gad 3” that would have provided such access. Loss of backcountry terrain to resorts can’t be mitigated. It can only be prevented up front.
§ Snowbird’s proposal ignores multiple uses. Mainly other types of users compose “Utah’s Tourism Industry” than just resort patrons. These include hikers, anglers, bikers, and photographers. Resort developments affect the experiences of these other tourists. Muscle-powered backcountry skiers are continuously being marginalized by resort development while at the same time the popularity of backcountry use has exploded.
These are only a few of the impacts that require thorough study in the upcoming Environmental Impact Statement. Save Our Canyons will be following the developments of this expansion. We implore you to do the same and join us in our never ending fight to protect the wildness and beauty of the Wasatch mountains, canyons and foothills!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Stop the Coaster
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)