[Federal Register: November 30, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 229)]
[Notices]
[Page 71801-71802]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30no05-22]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
White River National Forest; Summit County, CO; Arapahoe Basin
Ski Area and Montezuma Bowl Projects
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) to disclose the anticipated environmental effects of
the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and Montezuma Bowl Projects. The Proposed
Action would upgrade and expand infrastructure within the existing
Special Use Permit (SUP) area to accommodate parking demands and
improve skiing opportunities for existing and proposed visitation,
thereby enhancing the quality of the recreation experience.
The major aspects of the Proposed Action include:
Install a new fixed-grip triple of quad chairlift in
Montezuma Bowl. Adding lift-served skiing within Montezuma Bowl would
increase A-Basin's existing overall skiable acreage for approximately
487 to 812 acres. The Montezuma Bowl area would add approximately 175
acres of intermediate terrain and 149 acres of advanced and expert
terrain, all accessible for round-trip skiing via one proposed
chairlift.
Install snowfencing west of the proposed lift terminal,
below (south) of the ridgeline, to aid in snow retention.
Install a raised ``avalauncher'' platform to allow A-Basin
ski patrol to safely conduct snow safety operations in Montezuma Bowl.
Replace the existing Exhibition lift (fixed-grip triple)
with a high speed detachable quad chair accommodating 2,60 people per
hour in a slightly modified alignment.
Create an additional 231 parking spaces by widening and
re-grading the Lower Overflow Lot and the High Noon Lot, bringing total
parking capacity at A-Basin's five lots to 1,781 vehicles. In
conjunction with the re-grading of the High Noon lot, a series of
sediment detention basins are proposed along the west edge of the
parking area, parallel with Highway 6.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
by January 6, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning this notice should be addressed
to Maribeth Gustafson, Forest Supervisor, c/o Peech Keller, Project
Leader, Dillon Ranger District, PO Box 620, Dillon, CO 80498; (970)
468-7735 (fax); or by submitting an e-mail to:
comments-rocky-mountain-white-river-eastzone@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peech Keller, Project Leader, at the
Dillon Ranger District via telephone at (970) 468-5400 or e-mail at
cpkeller2fs.fed.us. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday
through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action addresses issues related
to the recreation experience. Presently, alpine skiing/snowboarding and
other resort activities are provided to the public through a SUP issued
by the Forest Service and administered by the White River National
Forest. All elements of the proposal remain within the existing SUP
boundary area.
The proposed improvements are consistent with the 2002 Revised
White River National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest
Plan). The proposed improvements are considered necessary in light of
current resort deficiencies and projected future visitation.
Purpose and Need for Action
The Forest Service and A-Basin cooperatively identified a purpose
for this proposal, which is to upgrade and expand infrastructure within
the existing SUP area to accommodate parking demands and improve skiing
opportunities for existing and proposed visitation, thereby enhancing
the quality of the recreation experience.
Responsible Official
The responsible official is Maribeth Gustafson, Forest Supervisor
for the White River National Forest, 900 Grand Ave., P.O. Box 948,
Glenwood Springs Colorado 81602. The responsible official will document
the decision and reasons for the decision in a Record of Decision. That
decision will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR part 215 or part 251.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Based on the analysis that will be documented in the forthcoming
EIS, the responsible official for this project, the Forest Supervisor
of the White River National Forest, will decide whether or not to
implement, in whole or in part, the Proposed Action or another
alternative developed by the Forest Service.
Scoping Process
Public questions and comments regarding this proposal are an
integral part of this environmental analysis process. Comments will be
used to identify issues and develop alternatives to A-Basin's proposal.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues and
concerns on the proposed action, comments should be as specific as
possible.
Input provided by interested and/or affected individuals,
organizations and governmental agencies will be used to identify
resource issues that will be analyzed in the Draft EIS. The Forest
Service will identify significant issues raised during the scoping
process, and use them to formulate alternatives, prescribe mitigation
measures, or analyze environmental effects.
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides
the development of the draft environmental impact statement, including
the identification of the range of alternatives to be considered. While
public participation is strictly optional at this stage, the Forest
Service believes that it is important to give reviewers notice of
several court rulings related to public
[[Page 71802]]
participation in the subsequent environmental review process. First,
reviewers of draft statement must structure their participation in the
environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and
alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,553 (1978). Also,
environmental objections that could be raised at the draft
environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised until
after completion of the final environmental impact statement may be
waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. Harris, 490 F.
Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980).
Because of these court rulings, it is very important that those
interested in this proposed action participate during the scoping
period so that substantive comments and objections are made available
to the Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them
and respond to them in the development of the alternatives. To assist
the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues and concerns
on the proposed action, comments on the proposed action should be as
specific as possible.
Dated: November 18, 2005.
Catherine Kahlow,
Acting Forest Supervisor, White River National Forest.
[FR Doc. 05-23262 Filed 11-29-05; 8:45 am]
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