More Reaction to Forest Service Denial of Crested Butte Ski Area Expansion

More news outlets in Colorado and environs are reacting to the Forest Service's decision (discussed in this post from Monday) to turn down Crested Butte Ski Area's application for a "special use" permit to expand ski runs and lifts onto Snodgrass Mountain, in the middle of National Forest land.

The Watch out of Telluride is reporting how pleased local environmentalists are, in an article you can read here. Notably, it reports that Rocky (natch) Smith, Forest Watch Program Director for Colorado Wild "said that only once during his 25-year career reviewing Forest Service projects (including the Telluride Ski and Golf Company’s expansion into Prospect Basin that he opposed) has he ever seen the agency turn down a request to expand a ski area or open a new one." So a shift from not only the Bush Administration, but the Clinton, Bush I, and Reagan administrations as well.

Meanwhile, the Gunnison Times reports here that the owners of the ski area found the Forest Service's decision to be "on the verge of appalling" and are planning on fighting the decision in court, if necessary. If it gets that far, it will be interesting to hear what the district court and perhaps ultimately the Tenth Circuit say it takes for a special use permit decision--which has a lot of discretion written into it by law--to withstand review. The ski area owners really seem to feel that they are entitled to NEPA review. The question is whether this is based on tradition, rather than anything legal.