Mt. Ashland Ski Area Expansion Essay -- Environmental Issues

It’s a sunny October afternoon and I’m listening to the breeze gently rustle the tree tops above me. I look down into the creek as I sit here munching on some cashews, and I see trout gliding effortlessly through the crystal-clear water. I revel in how incredibly lush the area is†¦although it’s been a dry summer the ground is still moist, plants are bright and colorful, and wildlife is abound. After I finish my snack and tuck my trash away into my backpack, I continue my hike up this parcel of land that may soon become barren with towers of steel and wire draping the landscape†¦that’s if the Mt. Ashland Association (MAA), a non-profit organization that operates the Mt. Ashland ski area, gets their way. The MAA is looking to start a planned expansion of the area in late 2012. They plan to clear cut 70+ acres of old growth to pave way for more advanced slopes and a sparkly-new lodge. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ski area expansions are the most ecological damaging task that an area can undertake. In a plan revision for the White River National Forest in Colorado, regarding the Copper Mountain Ski Resort expansion, the EPA hammers that point home when they say that â€Å"†¦no other land management prescription on the Forest directly results in more stream-water depletion, wetland impacts, air pollution, permanent vegetation change, or permanent habitat loss†¦ more wetland impacts and stream depletions resulted from ski area expansion and improvement than from all other Forest management activities combined, including many direct and indirect impacts that are permanent (irreversible and irretrievable).† Meanwhile, skier numbers nationally have only increased just two percent since 1978 says, (source). Whic... ...'D' On Environmental Scorecard." Ashland Daily Tidings [Ashland, OR], 26 Nov. 2008, n. pag. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. "Saving the Pacific Fisher." Center for Biological Diversity. Center for Biological Diversity., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. United States. Dept. of Agriculture. Tenmile Recreation Path Environmental Assessment. [Summit County, Colorado.:] U.S. Forest Service, Dillion Ranger District [2011] Web. 24 Feb. 2012. Wright, Bruce. "A Question of Balance." Ashland Resource Center [Ashland, OR], 7 Sept. 2011, n. pag. Web. 24 Feb. 2012.