Plan for expanding Mount Spokane ski area presented tonight
STATE PARKS -- The latest step in a long effort to expand the downhill ski area at Mount Spokane State Park will be explained in a public workshop with time for public comment tonight, 6:30 p.m., in Building 17 at Spokane Falls Community College, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Dr. in Spokane.
The proposal by concessionaire Mount Spokane 2000 would expand the the Mount Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park by 279 acres into an 800-acre portion of the 13,919-acre state park on the west side of the mountain that does not yet have a formal land-use classification.
The expansion would include one ski lift and seven new ski runs. Mount Spokane 2000 would be responsible for the costs of improvements and additional expenses.
Ski area proponents say the expansion is necessary for the resort to stay competitive and would bring managed skiing back to the best snow area on the mountain. See our page 1 story from this week and last week's column by ski writer Bill Jennings.
Opponents to the proposal say the west side of the mountain -- which has some old growth timber and meadows and wetlands important to wildlife -- should be classified as Natural Forest Area, which would allow current recreation uses to continue but prevent the installation of a ski lift and cutting swaths into the forest.