Ski Areas Rated On Environment Group Gives High Marks To 49 Degrees North, Silver Mountain, But Objectivity Questioned

A coalition of environmental groups has given two local slopes “A” grades for being environmentally friendly.

The Ski Area Citizens Coalition, whose members graded resorts in nine Western states, was impressed that expansion plans at 49 Degrees North include restoration of an old clearcut. Idaho’s Silver Mountain, which also earned an “A,” has no expansion plans, said Spokane environmentalist Mike Peterson, who conducted the local surveys.

Peterson didn’t grade the resort at Mount Spokane State Park, where operators long have talked of expansion. Idaho’s Schweitzer Mountain Resort didn’t respond to requests for interviews, Peterson said.

Elsewhere in Washington, the coalition gave Crystal Mountain a failing grade because the resort plans a 265-acre expansion. Mission Ridge, White Pass and the Summit at Snoqualmie Pass each earned a “D.” Stevens Pass Ski Area got a “C” and Mount Baker Ski Area earned a “B.”

The only other Idaho resort on the list is Sun Valley, which earned an “A.”

The coalition is urging a boycott of resorts that earned “Ds” or “Fs.” In addition to scrutinizing expansion plans, the coalition considered the resorts’ impact on streams, wetlands, wildlife and pollution. Resorts lost points if they manufacture snow, which the coalition says degrades streams.

Stacy Gardner of the National Ski Areas Association called the report a publicity stunt.

“I’m not confident of their objectivity, and they should have hired an independent third party to do the scorecard,” she said.

The Coalition includes Colorado Wild, the Crystal (Mountain) Coalition of Washington, Friends of the Inyo of California, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Save Our Canyons of Utah.