SAM Magazine--Mt. Crested Butte, Colo., May 10, 2010--Late last week, Deputy Regional Forester Jim Peña affirmed Forest Supervisor Charlie Richmond's refusal to consider the Snodgrass Mountain expansion proposal in a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process with public involvement. This expansion would add 276 acres of new terrain to Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR), which would be serviced by three lifts, a conveyor and a gondola connecting the two areas.

According to the document, Peña's decision concludes that Richmond had the "broad discretionary authority to deny" the expansion, but that "another authorized officer might have made a different decision."

At issue is CBMR's four-year pre-NEPA review process, during which the area believed that it had addressed the Forest Service's concerns and questions and that the proposal would be able to move into the NEPA process for public review. According to CBMR, Forest Supervisor Richmond communicated to the resort in writing in January 2009 that those questions had been addressed and in internal Forest Service documents approved the NEPA process in July 2009. Then, in November 2009, Richmond issued a decision denying that the project move forward, citing the following issues: boundary management, avalanche safety, mountain access and off-site impacts.

It was then that CBMR appealed the decision.

"Of course we are incredibly disappointed," said Tim Mueller, president of CBMR. "We are still reviewing the decision, but it is clear that Jim Peña ignored the problems and fundamentally unfair aspects of Charlie Richmond's decision, which we identified in our appeal. Peña's ruling does not state that Charlie made the best decision, the right decision, or even the fair decision. Charlie Richmond played a bait and switch game with CBMR and Peña's decision completely ignores all of that."

CBMR will now take its case to the Chief of the Forest Service, Tom Tidwell.