SAM Magazine--November 11, 2009--After years of planning, Crested Butte, Colo., was denied permission to expand onto Snodgrass, which would have given the resort 276 new acres of terrain.

According to the Denver Post, The U.S. Forest Service rejected the resort's master plan and blocked its application for a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review. In a letter, Charlie Richmond, supervisor of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests said that the Forest Service has to be comfortable submitting a request for a NEPA review. "We have to be able to support it and defend it. It essentially becomes our proposal, and I'm not comfortable with that."

The decision came as a surprise to management at Crested Butte. "It is difficult to express the depth of our disappointment regarding this decision," said Tim Mueller, president of the ski area.