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Show Snowbasin Land Swap appealed V " " - -- -- 1' I f 1 ru , I ,1, 1, u , . "tl --- I By JOHN W. CANNON Outdoor Editor BOUNTIFUL-At least three different appeals have been filed by various groups opposing the decision deci-sion to exchange nearly 700 acres of Forest Service land for the expansion ex-pansion of Snow Basin Ski Resort One of the appeals has been filed by Bountiful resident Ronald Younger. I Others include the Utah chapter I of Sierra Club, the Wasatch I Audubon Society, the Audubon j Coordinating Council of Utah, the Wasatch Mountain Club, and the Citizens' Committee to Save Our Canyons. These groups, representing repre-senting various contingents of concerned con-cerned citizens, filed a joint appeal listing 19 reasons why the land trade should not be made. Ronald Younger of Bountiful also filed an appeal against the decision to trade Forest Service Land to Snow Basin Ski Resort. His appeal is based on the following two contentions. - The. Snowbasin Ski Resort is nestled high in the mountains of the Cache National Forest east of Ogden. Developers would like to build an extensive year round resort in this area and feel that it would benefit the economy. disregards natural assets..." Younger also discusses the inadequacies in-adequacies of the Environmental Impact Study saying, "Perhaps the most serious weakness of the Environmental En-vironmental Impact Study is the unsubstantiated un-substantiated observations, subjective subjec-tive judgments, and inadequate data used to describe the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts. "All described adverse impacts are to be mitigated, but the mitigating measures are left to future technology, economic feasibility, countystate regulations, design, engineering and treatment facilities that may or may not prevent pre-vent a degradation of the existing ecosystems. "If corrective action specifications specifica-tions are known, they should be detailed and subject to review and corroboration. And, if unknown then the veracity of the conclu-sionary conclu-sionary statements regarding 1 . The Environmental Impact Study is not complete and is totally inadequate for this major and precedent-setting federal action significantly affecting the quality of the natural environment and future Forest Service policy. 2. The Record of Decision is arbitrary, ar-bitrary, capricious and so vague that many more ancillary decisions or agreements will be required in the future without the opportunity or full benefit of public review, comment com-ment or appeal. In his appeal Younger disputes the economic necessity of a resort development stating, "The economic analysis displayed..does not attempt any evaluation of all the present or future economic value of the present ecosystems of the Wheeler Creek Basin. To imply that intensive recreation and real estate development are the only economic benefits is misleading and totally mitigation measures is suspect." Younger also questions the validity valid-ity of two of the premises made in the Record of Decision, namely, "A land exchange is needed," and "A viable year-round facility is needed." Younger states, "... there is no current independent market research re-search published that would support the need for additional development in Utah. There is evidence to suggest sug-gest that available ski resort facilities and some short-season golf courses are under-utilized at the present time and some are, or have been in financial trouble (Wolf Creek, Nordic Valley, Powder Mountain, Brian Head, Park City West and Jeremy Ranch). Younger concludes his appeal by saying, "I have no vested interest in the outcome of this controversy other than as an interested (and impacted) im-pacted) citizen who enjoys the scenic beauty, access to public lands and a quality watershed on a year-round basis that exist at Snow Basin at the present time. Other protesting groups have cited a variety of reasons for appealing appeal-ing the decision. Following is a brief outline of these reasons: 1. The Record of Decision, (re ferring to the decision to trade 695 acres of Forest Service Land), is deficient because it is based on a deficient Environmental Impact Study; 2. There is no rational basis given for selection of 695 acres of land to be traded; 3. The Record of Decision does not take into account the availability availabili-ty or cost of obtaining and treating water lost to Pineview Reservoir, 4. In the Record of Decision the Deciding Officer contends without basis that ski resorts must be a four-season four-season resort to be economically viable; 5. There is clear evidence that the Record of Decision was in essence predetermined which is a violation of NEPA policy; 6. There is evidence that the Record of Decision was prejudiced by undue congressional influence; 7. No study was done to determine deter-mine if any endangered or threatened threaten-ed species are within the affected area; 8. The study of wetlands associated associ-ated with the exchange of 695 acres is inadequate. The above reasons are expounded expound-ed upon in detail in the appeal which is available for public review. k i: & "" ' j Lai i limn. aaahMtiaaawiBMMaiMJ a. The Snowbasin Ski Resort is located on a sensitive watershed that environmentalists fear will be irreparably damaged by further fur-ther development. |