Supporters say the proposed resort should be judged on its own merits
Friday, June 30, 2000
By Beth Quinn, Correspondent, The Oregonian
KLAMATH FALLS -- A campaign to keep alive Klamath County's 35-year-old dream of a ski resort on Pelican Butte picked
up broad support this week from Southern Oregon businessmen, residents, county and city officials, and Gov. John
Kitzhaber.
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Supporters asked the U.S. Forest Service to exempt Pelican Butte from a proposed road-building ban in national
forests that would short-circuit a three-year, $3.5 million environmental analysis of whether skiers could co-exist
with endangered species on the mountain 28 miles northwest of Klamath Falls. The proposed road ban, which is expected
to be approved in December, exempts Alaska's Tongass National Forest.
More than 125 people showed up Wednesday to comment on President Clinton's roadless initiative at a public meeting
in Klamath Falls, and most of the 84 people who spoke said the $38 million ski development should be judged on
its own merits.
"In our nation, when two parties go into a negotiation, they have the right to know that the rules can't be
changed by one, even if it is our government," said Lillie Goodson of Klamath Falls.
"The goal posts have been moved many times, but this is worse than that," Klamath Falls City Manager
Jeff Ball said. "This is a case of the referee stepping in, in the fourth quarter and calling the game."
That sentiment was echoed last week in a letter from Kitzhaber to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, whose
department includes the Forest Service.
"In light of how far down the road this project is and the effort being made by the proponents to address
environmental concerns, I ask that you consider allowing this project to proceed through the existing assessment
process without being blocked by the proposed roadless area rule," Kitzhaber wrote.
Conversely, a dozen speakers favored permanent protection for the 32,200 roadless acres that remain in the 1.1
million-acre Winema National Forest, including the 9,600-acre Sky Lakes B roadless area where the resort would
be built.
"We've come to the end of this landscape," said Andy Gigler of Klamath Falls. "It seems like all
the businessmen can think of is ringing the cash register, and they forget to look at the future."
The Pelican Butte ski resort, which would be developed by Jeld-Wen Inc. of Klamath Falls, is one of three new ski
resorts and two ski-area expansions that would be stopped if road building is banned on 43 million acres of undeveloped
national forests across the country.
Noting that skier use of national forests is flat and only one new ski area has been built on a national forest
in the past 20 years, the draft environmental impact statement for the road ban says national forests "would
no longer be the reservoir for future ski areas and resorts."
Even if Pelican Butte is exempted from the road ban, the proposed ski resort must overcome many environmental hurdles
before winning approval. Chief among those hurdles is proving that four animals on the endangered species list
-- bald eagles, northern spotted owls, Lost River suckers and shortnose suckers-- won't be harmed by the development.
In addition, the developer must show that emissions created by the ski area won't harm visibility at nearby Crater
Lake National Park or degrade water quality in Upper Klamath Lake.
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