Forest Service Releases Draft Decision For Improvements At Heavenly Mountain Resort
The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit in coordination with Heavenly Mountain Resort, issued a draft decision for proposed improvements to existing skiing and snowboarding terrain at Heavenly Mountain Resort. The proposed decision for the Heavenly Mountain Resort 2017 Capital Improvements Project, which incorporates Alternative 2 of the Proposed Action, is subject to an objection period pursuant to 36 CFR 218, Subparts A and B. Objections will be accepted from those who submitted project-specific written comments during the designated comment period. Objections must be submitted within 45 days following the publication of the legal notice in the Tahoe Daily Tribune on Feb. 7, 2018.
Proposed improvements would include selective widening of ski trails, removing trail obstacles and relocation and/or realignment of some portions of existing snowmaking air and water pipelines to improve user experience, maintain user safety, increase energy and water efficiency, and maintain native species.
Ski trail widening to reduce bottlenecks and improve skier flow, would include tree removal and selective boulder relocation on approximately 12 trails, with grading required in two locations to match the widened area to the grade of the existing trail. Due to the widening, any existing snowmaking lines would be relocated to the new edge of the trail. Removal of obstacles, such as boulders, stumps and logs, would take place on 11 trails to improve natural snow surface coverage.
The proposal to remove trail obstacles was addressed in the Heavenly Ski Resort Master Plan and includes protection of native plants and revegetation, removal of invasive plants, chipping of large woody debris and existing felled trees, stump grinding, and boulder height reduction.
Project work could begin as early as spring/summer 2018.
The Decision Notice/Finding of No Significant Impact is available at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/Heavenly2017.
