In 1998 the Mt. Ashland Association—working together with some of the top resort planning experts in the country--submitted its first site specific plan to improve the ski area (based on the 1991 master plan). This plan included the wind protected C-6 chairlift that would effectively change the nature of the terrain balance from being too steep for many guests to being attractive and attainable for a wide variety of users. The new plan also called for 200 additional parking spaces to better accommodate the Rogue Valley’s growing skier population.

In the summer of 1999 the ski area spent $900,000 installing a state of the art waste water treatment plant, which replaced an aging system but was also designed to support the bigger, better Mt. Ashland to come. This was the Mt. Ashland Association’s first major investment in improving the infrastructure of the ski area.

The ski area also funded the Environmental Impact Statement required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). That study--completed in 2000--found that installing the C-6 lift would have little to no negative affects on the mountain and Ashland watershed. After the public comment period the Environmental Protection Agency wrote a letter to the Forest Service stating they felt the USFS had violated NEPA procedures because it did not address all the alternatives that the 1991 master plan had introduced.

At that point the Mt. Ashland Association went back to the drawing board to produce and fund a second Environmental Impact Statement. We received $100,000 from the Oregon Economic Development Fund to help complete the study, and Mt. Ashland shouldered the rest of the expense. This second EIS included additional alternatives from the 1991 master plan as well as supplemental studies addressing public comments from the 2000 draft EIS.

The second EIS was released in 2003 to additional public comment and debate. After considering the input, the Forest Service issued their Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision approving the project in September 2004.

Following the Record of Decision, factions within the environmental community (Oregon Natural Resources Council consortium, Sierra Club and Eric Navickas) filed suit against the USFS. Mt. Ashland joined the Forest Service as an intervening party in defending the suit.

The case was heard by U.S. District Judge Owen Panner in September of 2006. He ruled in favor of the USFS and the Mt. Ashland improvement project. The plaintiffs then filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The three person panel of judges overruled Judge Panner’s ruling on two points of the total decision. Their ruling came out in September 2007. The ruling requires more study of Pacific fisher habitat and USFS zoning regarding land slide areas and wetlands designations.

In both of these points the USFS has expressed confidence that the additional studies or work needed can be completed—at the USFS cost—within an estimated time frame of 6 months to one year. The USFS and our attorneys were both pleased that, other than those points, Judge Panner’s ruling stands intact. The focus of our efforts can be considerably tightened in answering these final questions.