The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
People starting to play hardball on both sides…
Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) isn’t just rolling over and accepting last week’s Forest Service decision to disallow lift-served ski expansion onto Snodgrass Mountain.
Executives at CBMR are still trying to determine the best way to officially appeal Forest Supervisor Charlie Richmond’s decision to not even consider lift-served skiing on Snodgrass. The decision to end the discussion and not allow it into the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process seems to have ignited a firestorm of previously quiet public support for the ski company and its expansion plan.
CBMR has been working for five years in a so-called “pre-NEPA” process to add 276 acres of skiable terrain to the CBMR permit area.
Richmond issued a decision November 5 to not allow the Snodgrass proposal to go into the NEPA review process, saying lifts on Snodgrass were not in the public’s interest. Richmond also said that because the Snodgrass proposal was unsolicited, his decision was “not subject to administrative appeal.”
“We will be doing an appeal,” promised CBMR president Tim Mueller. “We haven’t filed anything yet because we are still figuring out how to proceed with an appeal. For them to say it can’t be appealed because it was an unsolicited proposal is disingenuous at best.”
Mueller says the company hopes to appeal Richmond’s decision in an administrative manner. “We want to try the administrative avenue with the Forest Service first,” said Mueller. “That makes sense to us and we want to be forthright. But if that doesn’t work, we will go to court and we’ll do whatever it takes to pursue this appeal.”
“Based on the response we’ve seen from the community over the last 10 days, it seems obvious to us that the community is looking for us to push it to the next level,” added CBMR vice president of sales and marketing Daren Cole.
CBMR chief operating officer Ken Stone said both the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) and the Colorado Ski Country organizations have lined up in support of CBMR getting the Snodgrass plan into the NEPA process.
“They are worried with the precedent set by the decision,” said Stone.
In a letter to the Forest Service, the NSAA expresses “dismay” at the decision. “The agency’s premature decision on Snodgrass is of concern to all resorts that operate on public land,” states a letter signed by National Ski Areas Association president Michael Berry. “It has deeply shaken our members’ faith that the Forest Service will follow the process established by law.”
Richmond’s boss, Regional Forester Rick Cables, was apparently in Washington D.C. this week and not available for comment. Forest Service External Affairs Officer Lee Ann Loupe said as far as an appeal of the decision, the position of the agency is that an administrative appeal is not available. “Charlie consults with his boss when making decisions, so Rick was aware of his position. We all agree that it was not an easy decision,” she said.
Word of the rejection decision hit the streets on Monday, November 9. Friends of Snodgrass Mountain (FOSM), the organization opposing lifts on the mountain, has remained relatively quiet about the decision.
“The Friends of Snodgrass thanks the Forest Service for making a decision to protect Snodgrass Mountain’s environment and low-impact recreation. The FOSM website contains our letter of support sent to the Forest Service and elected officials,” Chuck Shaw of FOSM is quoted in a statement released Tuesday. “Additional information pertinent to the Forest Service decision, federal environmental laws and the Snodgrass history will be there soon.
“Please write to Forest Service officials and congressional representatives saying that you support the Snodgrass decision,” Shaw continued. “Addresses are on the website, friendsofsnodgrass.org. Let’s all invite our friends and family to come and ski the best ski mountain in North America this winter.”
A “rally” was held Friday evening, November 13 at Maxwells Restaurant for those in support of the Snodgrass plan going into NEPA. Several hundred people showed up to express and voice their support. According to CBMR, 250 people signed a petition at the rally requesting the Forest Service take the Snodgrass proposal into NEPA. Another 118 signatures were gathered at the In Cahoots movie showing held the same night.
Speakers encouraged those at the gatherings to write the Forest Service and elected representatives to reconsider the Richmond decision, and let Snodgrass into the NEPA review process.
Some of the people disappointed in the decision are heading to Denver on a bus to picket and protest the decision at the Forest Service headquarters in Lakewood, where Cables’ office is located.
Led by Mt. Crested Butte mayor William Buck, the gathering is set to take place at 11:45 Friday morning in Lakewood. A bus is leaving Crested Butte at 6:30 Friday morning from the Four-Way Stop.
“We feel like the majority of folks in support of the plan haven’t been heard,” said Buck. “More than anything, we want an open and transparent process that the public can understand. Our feeling is that we were denied due process so we’re going to Charlie’s boss, Rick Cables. Part of the idea is to get some statewide media coverage. We want to focus attention on the fact we were denied due process. We want a full review through NEPA.”
Buck said he’s been on the phone almost constantly since the decision was announced. “Folks are calling and emailing from all over the country,” he said. “It’s a groundswell. People are outraged. It’s been very consuming. People from all walks of life have been talking to me.”
On the social networking website Facebook, a new page, “Friends of Ski Lifts on Snodgrass, because guess what!? We’re a SKI Town” (FOSLOSBGWWAST) was established. As of Wednesday afternoon, 710 people had become “fans” of the page. A similar Friends of Snodgrass Mountain (FOSM) Facebook page had 177 “fans.”
Two online surveys are being conducted in the valley. The Crested Butte-Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey and by the time of the Maxwell’s rally Friday night it found that 736 people had responded to the question: “Do you want the Forest Service to reverse its decision and allow the proposed Snodgrass project into the NEPA process? (We are not asking if you support CBMR’s Snodgrass proposal or not. We are only asking if you believe it should be given an open public hearing.” In response, 606 respondents, or 82 percent, said yes, while 18 percent said no. A link to that survey was posted on both Facebook pages. The chamber reopened the poll and it will run until Friday, November 20.
And it’s not all softball in this debate. People on both sides are playing hardball.
The Gunnison Country Times is conducting a poll as well. A vocal opponent to the Snodgrass expansion, Gary Dotzler, sent out an email late last week encouraging people to vote many times in that survey. The News was sent a copy of the email that originated with Dotzler but which had been forwarded by someone else.
“This voting system allows for multiple votes and is thus invalid,” the email states. “That said, they have quoted the results from past Snodgrass votes that have hurt the cause of saving the mountain. What to do??? It’s a tough question of scruples, I know. I suggest it’s better to participate (many times) in the vote, to help counter the numerous multiple votes they’ll receive, no doubt, from the other side: An ‘If you can’t beat ’em join em’ solution. If you don’t agree with this, no worries, please, at least vote once, that’s totally acceptable as well…”
Times editor Chris Dickey said that when an aberration is discovered in the online voting process, the paper checks the IP address and eliminates repeat voters. “While any on-line poll can be hijacked by people desperate, or bored enough to try hard, the only problem we’ve had with ‘Myvote’ in the past is people voting multiple times. This is easily detectable by us, and we correct it by simply giving each ‘IP’ address one vote. While you can manipulate IP addresses, it’s pretty easy to see if there are red flags there as well,” he explained.
Dotzler said online voting is very “manipulable” and results cannot be trusted to be accurate. He said the only way to expose shortcomings in the polls was to demonstrate it. He said that was one reason he sent out his “vote early and vote often” suggestion. Dotzler claims the chamber’s Internet poll was similarly flawed and he admitted voting more than once on that site. He said IP addresses could easily be changed and if someone wants to manipulate the vote, it is not difficult. He said both online polls could be skewed. “It’s too easy for one person to vote 1,000 times with unique IP addresses,” Dotzler said. “These things are more entertainment than fact.”
On the other side, Snodgrass supporter Jamie Watt is compiling a list of local businesses. The list categorizes each business as “For” Snodgrass, “Against” Snodgrass or “Neutral” on the issue. There is a fourth category of “Not yet been contacted.”
Watt said it was time to know if the businesses he frequented supported what he felt was a necessary economic plan for the future. “In last week’s Crested Butte News article, it was pointed out that some businesses didn’t want to comment on the issue because they were afraid of losing business. The time for that is over. Businesses shouldn’t be afraid to comment on Snodgrass one way or the other,” Watt said. “We want anyone who does business in the valley to participate. We want to know who is for or against Snodgrass. The declaration itself is neutral. People can then make decisions based on where a business stands. If you want to do business with someone because they don’t want [Snodgrass] developed, this declaration will provide that information. It works both ways.”
Watt said he is still in the process of trying to figure out how people can access the list. While he currently has sent the list via email, he is investigating the potential of linking it to various websites. As of Tuesday, he said about 400 names were on the list.
CBMR officials and Snodgrass supporters attended local Town Council meetings en masse. They are organizing rallies in Crested Butte and Gunnison (to be announced). They are placing petitions throughout the area in support of having the plan reviewed in NEPA. They are writing letters to the editor and posting on Facebook. And they will be busing to Denver to picket the feds. Wow.
