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Show FEBRUARY nowbird has a brand new chairlift. It is a nice, shiney, state-of-the-art Swiss model that cost over half million dollars. The chairlift is made to operate with the precision of a quartz timepiece and can comfortably zing skiers to the top of the mountain in mere PUBLIC But instead of opening new ski and snowboard terrain at the world famous resort situated among the breathtaking peaks of Little lihood, it is the first real battle in a war DEBATE Service U.S. Fores Cottonwood Canyon, the Baby Thunder lift is sitting in pieces in a Salt Lake warehouse, collecting dust And that makes Snowbird CEO Ray Gardiner see red. Ray Gardiner is so mad that his brand new 3aby Thunder lift is wasting away in a drab warehouse, that he is suing the U.S. Forest Service for not allowing him to install it. The legal action could be a risky move when you consider the Forest Service is HOlaiGe most of the cards: 75 percent of Snowbird’s ski terrain is on _ Forest Service land. And as one might imagine, the suit doesn’t make Snowbird’s landlords, the Forest Service, very happy. The dispute may well be more than a disagreement over a chairlift. In all lik- USE Snowbird Sues nmunutes granite LAND 1995 by Christopher Smart expand | in’) othe Wasatch Mountains, All of this, of course, is not to mention the fact that a lot of money is on the line for Snowbird — in the long run, it will total millions. Gardiner says he didn’t want to sue the feds. But after years of frustration, working unsuccessfully to get approval for Baby Thunder, he says he didn’t have any choice. “1 don’t believe the Forest Service Baby Thunder chairs during Summer, 1994 has been honest only will define Little with me. I haven’t been able to rely on Canyon in the end, but anything they’ve told me,” Gardiner said could determine how other ski resorts on in a Wasatch Mountain Times interview. Forest Service land will be.allowed to The Snowbird CEO claims that he purchased the Swiss chairlift only after a Forest Service official told him that approval for Baby Thunder was imminent. That statement may well be true — some Forest Service official, somewhere, * may have indicated just that to Gardiner. In a June 4, 1994 letter to Gray Reynolds, Regional Forester, Ogden, Gardiner refers to various discussions with a number of Forest Service officials: “On the basis of the meetings in Washington (D.C.), my meeting with you, and the total absence of any nega- The Forest Service decision embrace the _ tal assessments changes of environmenof ski resorts, how all future expansions resort on public lands will be viewed in the Wasatch Mountains. tive feedback, whatever, Snowbird entered into a contract with a lift manufacturer committing us to the expenditure of several hundred thousand dollars.) .2 But local Forest Service officials are adamant that Baby Thunder approval was no sure thing and they made sure Snowbird officials knew it. In separate interviews, Bill LeVere, the deputy Forest Supervisor for the Uintah and Wasatch/Cache National Forests; and Michael Sieg, the District MERCATO MEDITERRANEO The popular American trend of “coffee to go” is a foreign concept in Europe. At Mercato Mediterraneo, we carefully blend Old World ambience with American hospitality and prompt service. We hope you will try our special receipe for a memorable gourmet ae Anchoring Historic Old Town © Park City, PAGE Utah 10 © 801-6 47-003 0 to “cumulative effects” aspect oo = |