SAM Magazine--Wolf Creek, Colo., April 16, 2004--The owners of Wolf Creek Ski Area are opposing a planned second home development on 288 acres in the midst of the resort's 1,300-acre permit area, arguing that the project, which would be one of the largest in Colorado, would destroy the character and the nature of the minimalist ski area.

Wolf Creek Ski Area president Davey Pitcher told The Denver Post that while he approved of the developer's initial 1986 plan for a few hundred units, he now opposes the latest plan for 2,172 units.

According to forester Steve Brigham, the Forest Service has received hundreds of comments opposing the project, proposed by Texas billionaire Billy Joe "Red" McCombs McCombs, co-founder of Clear Channel Communications Inc. A draft EIS regarding the developer's request for road access across Forest Service land, tentatively due in late summer, will open the project to formal opposition. \