Lookout Pass expansion proposed

WALLACE — Skiing isn’t usually considered a team sport, but as Lookout Pass Ski Area seeks to expand, a group of government officials and environmental consultants are working together to minimize the proposal’s impact on wildlife and the environment.

The ski area on the Idaho-Montana border hopes to add 15 new ski trails covering about 91 acres of new terrain. Because the proposal is for U.S. Forest Service land, the agency’s North Idaho and western Montana offices have developed a draft environmental impact statement addressing Lookout’s request.

“This process would just give them the OK to do it,” said Daniel Scaife, a ranger with the Forest Service’s Coeur d’Alene River District. He noted harvesting timber for the new ski trails, ski lift expansion, construction of parking areas and associated infrastructure could take several seasons to complete.

Lookout Pass currently operates on land within the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and Lolo National Forest. A development plan for the expansion was submitted in 2013, prompting the Forest Service to host public hearings in the spring of 2014. Since then, field work and technical reports concerning issues addressed in the public hearings were produced, leading to the impact statement presented this week at three public meetings.

Lookout Pass hired SWCA Environmental Consultants to work with the Forest Service on the proposal. SWCA representative Jamie Young said impacts on fish, wildlife and water quality were among the concerns area residents had with the expansion plan.

“Sediment getting into streams has been a concern with prior ski area projects,” Young said. “If you remove vegetation, would there be water quality issues with streams and the nearby St. Regis River? Our findings show this project should not cause significant sediment issues.”

The proposal’s effect on regional grizzly bear and lynx populations also is minimal, Young said.

Two issues regarding human use of forest land were the expansion’s impact on an area snowmobile trail and any potential effects on the Historic Mullan Road area, which is on the Montana portion of the ski area.

The snowmobile trail passes through the existing Lookout Pass parking area, and additional skiers could worsen traffic trouble there. Young said the proposal includes expanding the existing lot and adding a new parking area along the access road north of the ski lodge — changes which would provide 130 new parking spaces.

The proposal also includes:

• Two new fixed-grip lifts (one on each side of the state line) to provide access to the new ski trails;

• An upgrade of the existing Lift 1 from a two-passenger to a fixed-grip or detachable four-passenger lift;

• A 7,000-square-foot maintenance shop and adjacent fuel storage tanks near the main lodge;

• A 24-by-20-foot ski patrol service building located at the top of the two new lifts;

• A 13-by-10-foot restroom structure near the bottom of a new lift; and

• Adding 2.8 miles of roads for timber harvest, lift construction and long-term operation and maintenance.

Three options are part of the draft environmental impact statement: turning down the expansion proposal, accepting it as-is, or allowing a modified proposal which would limit expansion to 12 ski trails covering 78 acres. A final decision among the three options is expected this fall, Scaife said.

Written comments on the draft environmental impact statement will be accepted through April 25, Scaife said. That date is the cutoff for comments to be considered for the draft record of decision.