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Show MOUNTAIN Renewal Due TIMES on Permit Limit Abuses of Helicopter Skiing in the Wasatch backcountry skiers soon began asking Forest Service officials how they could By Alexis Kelner = hen the recreational helicopter skiing concession first commenced operations near Alta, some town residents there expressed outrage at the disruption it caused to the serene mountain community. “F __k Helicopters,” painted on the roof of one Alta residence, denoted the intensity of feelings. The epithet was directed at Wasatch Powderbird Guides, the heli-skiing concession in the Wasatch. re Bob Athey and Steve Lewis demonstrate Powderbird Guides commenced operations in the mid-1970s, with the US Forest Service acting as a kindly Junior Achievement counselor for the fledgling enterprise. Twenty years later, Powderbird Guides appears to have matured into Junior Achievement Run Amok. The heli-skiing operators have more written complaints lodged against them than the combined complaints lodged against all other permitees who conduct business on lands administered by the Salt Lake Ranger District. The pampering of Powderbirds continued through the mid-1980s, when Congress removed several heliskiing drainages from the protection of the Olympus and Wilderness Area. The ever, provided Twin Peaks legislation, how- for continued Forest Service regulation of heli-ski activities on the terrain withdrawn. By the end of 1990, Powderbird Guides had assimilated into their Special Use Permit _ most of the skiable non-wilderness terrain in the Wasatch Mountains. At the same time, the ranks of backcountry winter recreationalists had increased phenomenally. Concerned justify allowing a very small and exclusive group of heli-skiers to spoil and endanger the backcountry recreation experiences of so many. When the heli-skiing Special Use Permit came up for renewal in January 1991, Forest Service officials initiated a professionally directed mediation process to resolve mounting friction between the two user groups. The goal of the backcountry skiers was a resolution of conflicts. But proposed terrain-use patterns that would have assured both user groups equal access to undisturbed terrain were rejected by Powderbird Guides. And in a lavish brochure _ distributed to its clientele, the heli-ski concession declared that its permit could not be revised “to the satisfaction of both parties,” — essentially a no compromise position. After the failure of mediation, Forest Service officials : continued the . renewal _ process. During a crowded photo by Alexis Kelner meeting at the at 10,000 feet. Whitmore Library later in 1991, Forest Supervisor Susan Giannettino announced some mitigating measures to be imposed. on the Powderbird Guides’ operations. Hardly had she concluded her comments when an agitated guide for the helicopter service announced the consequences: Wasatch Powderbird Guides was going to go golden eagles from their nests in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Such thoughtless fly-bys, she believes, have resulted in the deaths of several eaglets. Individuals urging curtailment of helicopter skiing will be confronted with myths spun by Powderbird’s employees, clients and backers. They claim they were there long before backcountry skiers, apparently ignorant of the fact that skiers have toured the Wasatch since the early 1920s Others will insist that the noise output of the helicopter is no louder than that of a bus Ski tourers have all the designated wilderness areas to ski in, copter guides will argue, not realizing that Powderbird Guides’ owner Greg Smith has pronounced such lands unsuitable for ordinary crosscountry use. Due to “the steepness of topography and the severity of high altitude conditions,” Smith wrote to the Forest Service, “large tracts of the Wasatch in general and the Lone Peak Wilderness Area specifically are less than ideal for crosscountry use.” Forest Service officials say they intend to make a decision on the permit renewal that will be easy to understand, easy to monitor and fair to backcountry users. Wasatch Powderbird Guides Safety impacts and targeted One on private wildlife, property public are issues for analysis ‘of the prope sed alternatives would be to not renew the permit, period. Hallelujah! That would end all heli-skiing conflicts in the Wasatch Another alternative would prohibit heli-skiing during weekends in Emigration, Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons Some concerned citizens are urg ing Forest Service Officials to limit Powderbird Guides to the use of a sin gle helicopter and to rigidly define their operating season to the period of Dec. 15 to March 15 Scoping documents detailing all proposed alternatives can be obtained by calling the Forest Service district office. Officials want to know if there are additional issues and alternatives. Send your comments to: Michael Sieg, District Ranger, Salt Lake Ranger District, 6944 So. 3000 East, S.L.C., Utah, 84121 The public comment period ends April 7, so act now to help curtail the heli-skiing concession. Failure to promote good alternatives may lead to five more years of unfettered helicopter use and abuse. @ 7 You don’t need to wait for the snow to melt, | or the med to dry up. | Start getting in shape for your summer activities NOW with a new Life Fitness Treadmill or Lifecycle Bike. out of business. It was too good to be true. Within a few months the Regional Forester relaxed some of Giannettino’s measures and directed Forest Service personnel to develop a monitoring system to determine conflicts. That set the stage for this year’s edition of the per- mit renewal process. Today, heli-skiing regulation pro- ponents are armed with reams of data on conflicts and more and diverse allegations of heli-skiing abuses: Leaders of a Girl Scout camp near Provo have threatened to have heli-skiers arrested for trespassing; Wasatch Mountain State Park and Provo City officials have complained of unauthorized use of public roads for landing sites by Powderbird Guides; Salt Laker interactive fitness solutions Come in and see our complete selection of LIFE FITNESS products mei elas ... your Fitness Headquarters for LIFE Ellie Ienatsch has observed the Powderbird Guides helicopter repeatedly spooking PAGE 2350 South Foothill Drive 5 = 484-9489 | |
