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Forest service seeks comment on Mission Ridge expansion

Colby Granstrom, of Lake Stevens, Wash., nears the end of his first slalom run Monday, April 12, 2010, at Mission Ridge Ski Resort in Wenatchee, Wash. The resort is seeking a permit to expand onto 155 acres of national forest land northeast of its current location, according to a U.S. Forest Service report in August 2018. The Forest Service is seeking public comment until Sept. 28, 2018, on the resort plans to add two ski runs on the public land. ) (Don Seabrook / Associated Press)
By Tony Buhr Wenatchee World

WENATCHEE – The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment on plans to expand the Mission Ridge Ski and Board Resort.

The resort is seeking a permit to expand onto 155 acres of national forest land northeast of its current location, according to a Forest Service report. The resort plans to add two ski runs on the public land, including a new beginner ski route, and a Nordic ski area.

Trees would be cut down for this project and the ground contoured for the ski runs, according to the report.

The Forest Service would like comments to be sent by Sept. 28 Comments can be mailed to District Ranger Jeffery Rivera at Wenatchee River Road, 600 Sherbourne, Leavenworth, WA, 98826 or by email at comments-pacificnorthwest-wenatchee-wrrd@fs.fed.us.

Comments must include the sender’s name and address.

The resort also plans to build on 188 acres of privately-owned land, according to the report. It wants to construct 870 new buildings including restaurants, retail stores, meeting spaces, ski repair shops, ski rental shops and a multifamily home community consisting of single-family homes and condominiums.

The construction will be done with an emphasis on minimizing the impact to the surrounding landscape, according to the report. If constructed it will include downcast lighting, nonreflective surfaces, and use colors that blend in with the natural environment.

The resort will also ensure room for open spaces, pedestrian paths and wildlife corridors, according to the report.

The project is still undergoing a Washington state environmental analysis and application approval with Chelan County, according to the Forest Service.