March 11, 2011 in Sports, Outdoors

Public workshop a key milestone in Mount Spokane expansion plan

• Print
• Email
• Share

The long, arduous process of expansion at Mount Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park is reaching another critical milestone.

A public comment period on Mount Spokane 2000’s final proposal began Feb. 15. The Washington State Parks Commission is conducting a workshop next week to formally present the plan to the public.

The commission will take public comments into account when it makes a decision on how to classify the area proposed for expansion. Land in Mount Spokane State Park is classified several ways. “Natural Area Preserved” is the most protected. “Natural Forest Area” has fewer restrictions. “Resource/Recreation” has fewer still. “Recreation” is the classification the ski area needs to move into the “Proposed Alpine Ski Expansion Area.” Those familiar with the project call it the “Pasea.”

“This is the breakthrough we’ve been going after for years,” said Brad McQuarrie, general manager of the ski area. “If the Pasea is classified as recreation, we can go in there right away and clean up all the down timber. Cleaning it up will make the area safer, much more fun and consistent with the way ski areas should operate.”

The public workshop takes place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in Sub Lounge AB&C (rooms 102, 103 and 104) in building 17 at Spokane Falls Community College. Washington State Parks staff will set up kiosks attended by park rangers. The presentations will define the options for land classification and staff will answer questions about developing the Pasea.

“Our objectives are to provide balanced information and give the public an opportunity to comment,” said Deb Wallace, strategic and long-range planning manager at the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. “It’s a great chance for people to talk with park staff one-on-one and give us feedback. We’ve extended the public comment period from March 16 to March 21 so people can take data from the workshop and send us comments.”

At the workshop, those who thought they knew about Mount Spokane’s proposal for the Pasea will learn that things have changed. The board submitted an expansion plan in 2006 that included about 600 acres of the 850-acre Pasea. The revised proposal seeks to use just 250 acres, with 81 acres of cut trails.

“We don’t want to develop the whole thing,” McQuarrie said. “People have worried about that in the past because one of the alternatives was multiple lifts and a building. A lot of people who really argued with me about going back there look at it now and say it’s not a bad thing.”

McQuarrie’s revised proposal takes out all the trails that went across the mature forest area. Now one lift is planned in an area that was part of the original ski hill decades ago. McQuarrie said once he can clean it up and manage it, the terrain north of the proposed skiing pod will be some of the best expert side country terrain in the region.

The commission will make its decision in Spokane on May 24. If the Pasea is classified recreation, the skiing and riding options at Mount Spokane could change quickly.

“The classification doesn’t allow us to cut runs or anything like that, but there’s a lot we can do to improve safety and skiing,” McQuarrie said. “Lift construction would be down the road. It will be fun to have great tree skiing for a while until we raise the money we need for the lift. I don’t think people would mind.”

Three comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  SpeedBump on March 11 at 9:16 a.m.

  Mt. Spokane’s revised development proposal is both reasonable and proportionate. It preserves the mature timber in the North and East side of the PASEA. A Recreation Classification is consistent with this portion of the mountain’s historical uses and is needed to improve winter and summer opportunities.

• 

  jeffleelambert on March 11 at 3:19 p.m.

  Cutting in ski runs will ruin the view of Mt Spokane from the west. And the impact to the habitat is well documented with both Dept of Natural Resources and the Dept of Fish and Wildlife opposed. The PASEA has never been developed with a ski lift or ski runs and the old growth forest, meadows and wetlands are in excellent condition.There are many recreation and environmental groups opposed to the ski area expansion - www.SaveMtSpokane.org .

• 

  spokane_boy on March 14 at 11:12 p.m.

  Reasonable and proportionate? Hardly. I find many of the arguments for this expansion to be contrived and bogus. The proposed ski area expansion will allow cutting of old growth timber, and ruin wetlands and critical, irreplaceable habitat. I’m a long-time Mt. Spokane avid skier, mountain biker, and hiker—of all sides of the mountain and the park, including the westside PASEA area. My recreational opportunities will not be improved: they will be severely worsened if this boondoggle goes through. Changing the classification of the PASEA from Natural Area Preserved and Natural Forest to Recreation for the purpose of “development” benefits only a very few, and will be needlessly costly to the very many.

  Mt. Spokane State Park is a shining jewel for the greater Spokane area: historically speaking, this state park was established for more than just recreation. Bottom line, the west side old-growth habitat does not need to be roaded, logged and cut up to improve the skiing. Mt. Spokane 2000 should instead concentrate on improving the 2/3’s of the mountain they already have a concession on and that has been logged and developed—especially the aging 5 lifts and 2 lodges they currently own.