San Juan Citizens Alliance appeals Silverton heli swap
Process to approve Silverton Guides expansion 'deeply flawed'
In May, the BLM approved a land swap for Silverton Guides that allowed them to give up some of their above-treeline heli-ski pods for more terrain at lower elevations. The ski area said the move was made out of safety concerns but a majority of public comments were against the proposal./File photo
It could be a bumpy flight for Silverton Mountain’s heli-skiing operations. Last week, local environmental group San Juan Citizens Alliance filed an appeal with the BLM over approval of the ski area’s controversial land swap and expansion. Among other things, the group alleged the agency’s approval process to expand heli-ski operations on public lands surrounding Silverton was “veiled and illegal.” The group also alleges that dozens of comments were left out of the public record and/or were not accounted for or addressed during the scoping process.
The BLM conducted an Environmental Assessment in the summer of 2016 for the proposal. In that proposal, Silverton Guides, the heli-skiing arm of Silverton Mountain, requested swapping some of its higher-elevation ski pods for ones at lower elevation. Although Silverton Guides would give up five pods in exchange for four, it would actually gain more than 10,000 acres in terrain.
The resulting scoping process generated nearly 400 public comments, 85 percent of which were opposed to the expansion, with user conflicts with other backcountry users topping the list of concerns, according to the SJCA.
“The unusually large level of engagement for a commercial recreational use permit is indicative of how controversial the proposal was,” stated a news release from the group.
Nevertheless, in May of 2017, the BLM approved the swap and expansion, “despite failing to … address significant public concerns or analyze sufficient alternatives,” SJCA stated.
Although the BLM is required to address issues brought up in the scoping period, the group argued, user conflicts were mentioned only in passing. In addition, commenters also suggested alternative proposals that the BLM ignored, choosing instead to only consider the standard “No Action” alternative.
SJCA also alleged that a Freedom of Information Act request revealed at least 25 public comments were missing from the public record, and the BLM made no substantial effort to reconcile why they were missing.
“The Bureau of Land Management is legally responsible to serve the public interest, but in this process they discarded public input in order to reach what seems to be a predetermined outcome benefiting one commercial interest to the detriment of a diverse array of winter recreationists,” SHCA’s Public Lands Coordinator Jimbo Buickerood said. “We simply couldn’t let that go.”
Much of the expansion/swap area is southeast of Howardsville and encompasses Minnie and Maggie gulches, and Cunningham and Arrastra creeks. These areas were also considered – and denied – for expansion by the ski area in 2008. The reasons given were concerns over noise, backcountry user conflict and crossover with Wilderness Study areas. An additional expansion area is just north of Silverton, along Highway 110 near Hancock Gulch between the ski area and town.