Resort proposal won’t be pursued
TOPPENISH, Wash. – The Yakama Indian Nation no longer is pursuing a proposal to develop a destination resort on tribal land on Mount Adams, a tribal council official said Monday.
The proposed resort would have included eight ski lifts, a gondola and a tram that would have carried skiers to 11,100 feet on the 12,276-foot mountain, as well as three 18-hole golf courses, a casino, restaurant and 2,500 lodging units.
Tribal council members had expressed interest in the idea to diversify economic development.
Some tribal members and outdoors enthusiasts, however, criticized the idea in newspaper articles and letters to the editor.
The 14-member tribal council assigned a feasibility study to staff members from several tribal departments, including wildlife, fisheries, natural resources, cultural resources and water.
Each reported in the past few weeks that the project would have a negative impact on the environment, tribal council Vice Chairman Virgil Lewis Sr. said.
“Seeing that and hearing that, we have decided it’s not something we wish to pursue at this time,” Lewis said.
“I guess economically, we could have benefited a very large sum of money to the tribe, but do we want to sacrifice an area of extreme cultural significance to the tribe? We’re not ready to do that,” he said.
Mt. Hood Meadows Development Corp., which operates two ski resorts at Oregon’s Mount Hood, pitched the idea to the Yakama Nation earlier this year.
Dave Riley, vice president and general manager of Mt. Hood Meadows, said he believes the idea is not dead.
Mount Adams is a wonderful location for a destination resort, and the idea just needs more time to draw support, he said.
“In my mind, it’s still up in the air,” Riley said.
“We’re going to continue to work with the Yakama Nation and provide additional information to them so they can continue to consider the development,” he said.
Mount Adams is one of the largest volcanoes in the Cascade Range. Others include Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier and Mount Baker in Washington and Mount Hood in Oregon.
Known as Pahto to American Indians in the region, Mount Adams was returned to the Yakamas in 1972 by President Nixon following a nearly 50-year boundary dispute.
The area is closed to nontribal members and remains a culturally significant and pristine site for fishing, hunting and sacred food gathering.
Lewis said a ski resort has been proposed for the mountain in the past and likely will be again, which is why the tribal council wanted to have a feasibility study completed.
“We would be shirking our duty to not at least listen to the proposal,” Lewis said.
But, he added, “I believe we have a lot of other options that have not yet been considered. We don’t have to sacrifice an area that’s more or less sacred.”