Environment
Forest Service OKs Plan to Restore Tundra Damaged in Resort Construction
The U.S. Forest Service allowed work to resume at the ski resort on Aug. 4, but the restoration of the damaged areas will take priority over construction.
Map courtesy of U.S. Forest Service/SE Group
The expansion of the Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado can resume after the U.S. Forest Service approved a restoration plan for areas it said were damaged by unauthorized work. Parts of the project will face delays as the repairs are prioritized over other construction.
Keystone owner Vail Resorts Inc. hired Denver-based DHM Design to prepare a restoration plan. The plan divides the area into seven treatment zones, with work including hand raking of soil and grading, placement of supplemental topsoil and boulders and reuse of existing alpine sod pieces. The proposal includes post-construction monitoring through 2033.
Chris Sorensen, vice president and general manager of the resort said in a statement that the unauthorized work was the result of “a misunderstanding by our construction team.” Company representatives did not immediately respond to queries asking for the contractor's name.
“Our priority is preserving and caring for our natural environment,” Sorensen said. “We take our role as stewards of the environment and of National Forest Service Land extremely seriously, and we will operate with that at the heart of the work we execute for the restoration plan and the full Bergman Bowl project.”
Forest Service officials had previously OK’d the resort’s Bergman Bowl enhancement, but Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams sent a notice of noncompliance and a cease-and-desist order to the resort July 8 after the Forest Service observed unauthorized road construction related to the project.
Fitzwilliams rescinded the notice and cease-and-desist on Aug. 4 after reviewing the resort’s restoration plan, writing that he appreciated the “quick response and the thoroughness of the plan.”
Restoration the Priority
However, the restoration needs to be the priority for the rest of this year’s construction season, Fitzwilliams added.
Keystone is in the midst of a project to open up 555 acres in the Bergman Bowl and Erickson Bowl for easier access. The program includes construction of a high-speed, six-person chairlift, 16 ski trails and other enhancements. Work also includes a 6,000-sq-ft expansion of a restaurant near the top of North Peak mountain.
The resort is within White River National Forest, west of Denver. Vail Resorts has a special use authorization from the U.S. Forest Service to operate the resort, but must get written permission for additional construction.
Unauthorized grading occurred on 2.5 acres, including on 1.5 acres of fragile alpine tundra, Forest Service records show. A mid-slope access route was cleared and graded despite the plan calling for construction routes to follow the footprint of the approved ski trails and require no earthwork. A wetlands creek was also filled with logs and graded over to create a road crossing, but without a necessary wetlands permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Forest Service spotted other practices that were not consistent with the design criteria, including the unauthorized use of heavy equipment in certain areas. Along the lift-line logging area, planned helicopter extraction had been replaced by mechanical extraction.
Sorensen said an additional review of the high alpine areas would push back completion of the lift past the 2022-23 ski season, though he was optimistic it could be completed next summer. Other work, including the restaurant expansion, is able to continue as originally planned.
