National Forest Decision: Copper Mountain Snowmaking And Summer Uses
An Environmental Assessment (EA), Draft Decision Notice (DN), and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Copper Mountain Resort Snowmaking and Summer Uses Project has been completed and is available for review.
The EA analyzes the effects of projects proposed by Copper Mountain Resort within the existing special use permit (SUP) area on lands administered by the Dillon Ranger District of the White River National Forest. The Proposed Action in the draft Decision Notice expands snowmaking coverage by 73.4 acres, expands the mountain biking and hiking trail networks by 21 and 14 miles respectively, adds summer programing centered around camping, and extends the existing ‘A-1’ mountain access road by 370 feet. As the Responsible Official with approval authority for these activities, I have identified the Proposed Action as the Selected Alternative.
The Selected Alternative includes implementation of the above projects to address the Purpose and Need for action identified in the EA. An interactive Story Map for the project has been developed and is available for review online.
The purpose of the project is to provide a variety of year-round recreation opportunities for the public at CMR, ultimately encouraging new guests to visit and experience the WRNF and CMR in a safe and well-managed context.
The additional snowmaking component of the project will enhance the winter recreation experience by ensuring the timely opening of trails that do not currently have snowmaking, as well as providing adequate snow coverage on all trails where snowmaking infrastructure is installed.
This will enhance the reliability and consistency of the skiing surface in response to site-specific operational concerns, guest expectations, and increased variability in climatic conditions like precipitation and temperature.
The summer trails and programming components of the project will expand the variety of nature-based recreation opportunities available at CMR and will offer a variety of recreational opportunities that will cater to those visitors that already have the skills necessary to engage in summer recreation, as well as visitors who may not yet possess the requisite level of skills or experience
There is a need to improve upon the winter recreation experience at CMR, which at this time has been identified as being most achievable through the addition of snowmaking coverage within the existing winter trail network.
Additionally, there is a need to provide additional multi-season recreation opportunities for the public at CMR, which has been identified as being achievable through the expansion of the mountain biking and hiking trail networks and additional summer programming
The WRNF Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) allocated the CMR special use permit (SUP) area as Management Area 8.25 – Ski Areas (Existing and Potential).
This management area allocation supports to the Purpose and Need for the project.
In particular, the theme identified for Management Area 8.25 in the Forest Plan states, “Ski areas are developed and operated by the private sector to provide opportunities for intensively managed outdoor recreation activities during all seasons of the year.”
In accordance with this emphasis on recreation within Management Area 8.25, CMR will expand its recreational offerings with the approved projects. The approved projects have been reviewed for consistency with all relevant management direction provided by the Forest Plane
The Selected Alternative
The Selected Alternative will include various snowmaking and summer recreational improvements associated with providing additional snowmaking within the CMR SUP, construction of additional mountain biking and hiking trails, expansion of the summer programming offered at CMR, and extension of the existing “A-1” mountain access road to provide access to CMR’s “Olie Lind” parcel.
All the approved projects are within the existing CMR SUP area. Natural resource considerations (e.g., wetland avoidance and erosion mitigation) have been accounted for in the planning of this project, and the result is a low-impact design considering the acreage of snowmaking, associated stream health design criteria, and mileage of trails to be implemented
The Selected Alternative was the only alternative analyzed in detail in the EA. In accordance with Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Chapter 40, Section 41.22, and 36 CFR § 220.7(b)(2)(ii), the EA did not include an analysis of the No Action Alternative; however, numerous other alternatives were considered early in the NEPA process. These alternatives were thoroughly considered by the Forest Service for consistency with Forest Plan direction and were not carried forward into detailed analysis (refer to the Issues, Resources, and Alternatives Considered but Not Carried Forward document available on the project webpage).
