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By DAVID LESTER
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
A long-awaited and much-discussed expansion of the White Pass Ski Area has taken another step forward.
The U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday issued a formal decision allowing the ski area to nearly double in size and add lifts and other amenities at the expense of roadless areas long defended by conservationists.
If the government's selected alternative is ultimately adopted after an appeal period that should begin next week, the popular Highway 12 ski area west of Yakima would expand into the Hogback Basin, a pristine roadless area favored by backcountry skiers and snowshoe enthusiasts.
Only those who commented earlier in the process are eligible to file an appeal.
The idea of expanding to the southwest of the ski area has been around for more than two decades. Previous efforts by ski area owners have been thwarted by lawsuits that centered on road-building in the Hogback.
Expansion supporters, primarily the White Pass Co., have argued the project is needed to accommodate growth that has the ski area bursting at the seams with an annual average of nearly 110,000 skiers over the past five years.
Even with the expansion, White Pass would still be smaller than Washington's three major ski resorts -- Crystal Mountain at the edge of Mount Rainier National Park, Stevens Pass on Highway 2 and The Summit at Snoqualmie on Interstate 90.
A spokesman for ski areas in the region said the expansion will make White Pass more economically viable by allowing access to higher-elevation areas where earlier snow is more likely.
"The proposed chairlifts would allow White Pass to open earlier in the winter and work under more optimal conditions during ski time," said Scott Kaden, president of the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association.
Randy Shepard, Naches Ranger District ranger, said the agency recognized those competing interests in the plan they adopted, one of five considered in a final environmental impact statement issued along with the record of decision.
"We have done our best to balance the needs of additional skiing opportunities with the effect on the environment," Shepard said Wednesday. "One big social issue has to do with expansion within an inventoried roadless area."
"The other issue is the detrimental effect on the current backcountry skiing," he added. "There are a number of people who are very enthusiastic and concerned about losing that opportunity."
Ski area officials, including general manager Kevin McCarthy, could not be reached for comment.
But conservation groups, whose interests have focused on the Hogback Basin and its proximity to the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area, said they are disappointed.
Mark Lawler of Seattle, national forest committee chairman for the Sierra Club's Cascade Chapter, said the group would have preferred the forest service focus on improvements within the ski area's current 800 acres.
"It allows quite a lot of opportunities to improve downhill skiing without having to enter the pristine area of the Hogback," said Lawler.
He called the selection of Hogback a strange choice because the site doesn't offer the type of terrain that would attract expert downhillers.
He added the organization plans to review the decision before determining its next step.
Also following the process closely is the Gifford Pinchot Task Force, a group that has tracked actions in the national forest. The expansion would be within the Gifford Pinchot, which abuts the Okanogan and Wenatchee national forests.
Ryan Hunter of Portland, an official of the group, said the expansion flies in the face of public sentiment for saving roadless areas.
"This is important habitat because it is attached to the Goat Rocks and has more value. It is a larger block that provides habitat,"
he said.
The approximately 800 acres earmarked for expansion at one time was part of the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area. But with the signing of the 1984 wilderness bill, that property was removed in exchange for additions elsewhere.
Former U.S. Rep. Sid Morrison of Zillah said Wednesday the clear intent of Congress was that the land would be withdrawn for the ski area expansion.
"All I can say is we are 20 years late," said Morrison.
The option selected by the Forest Service would expand the White Pass acreage to almost 1,600 acres.
The ski area plans to add two new lifts and about 85 acres to the existing 212-acre system.
Other major features include a two-story mid-mountain lodge of 2,000 square feet with restroom facilities and limited food service.
A second ticket booth also is part of the ski area plan along with a new seven-acre parking lot that would handle all cars except those on the busiest days. The parking would resolve safety issues with cars parking on either side of the highway, although there is no record of pedestrians ever being struck at the summit.
In the record of decision, Forest Service officials wrote that the adopted plan strikes the best balance between meeting the needs of the ski area and protecting the environment through a series of mitigating measures.
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