Snowbird expansion in Mineral Basin

[Kevin B.]

This is late notice I know, but better late than never I hope. Snowbird is seeking to place an avalanche cannon and do road improvements in Mineral Basin. I don't know exactly what that entails, but I guarantee nothing good for anybody that enjoys that canyon as it sits. I envision the Mineral Basin trail being graded and "improved" so that Snowbird can service their avalanche cannon, and then once it starts getting vandalized they'll make the FS gate it off completely.

There's more info here: http://www.expeditionutah.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4802, but long story short, today is apparently the last day to submit comments. According to a post in that link:

The Forest Service is considering authorization of these projects and has sought public comment via a scoping notice post-dated April 17, 2015, and a “request for comments” in The Salt Lake Tribune on April 22, 2015. The comment period is open until May 15, 2015 and below is the information on how to provide comments:
Written, facsimile, hand-delivered, oral, and electronic comments must be received by May 15, 2015. Written comments must be submitted to: Pleasant Grove District Ranger, 390 North 100 East, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062. The fax number is (801)785-6932. The office business hours for submitting hand-delivered comments are: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday,
excluding holidays. Oral comments must be provided in person at the address above during normal business hours, via telephone at (801) 733-2660, or at an official agency function (i.e. public meeting) that is designed to elicit public comments. Electronic comments must be submitted in rich text format (.rtf) or Word (.doc or .docx) or .pdf to comments-intermtn-wasatch-cache-saltlake@fs.fed.us.

Note that electronic comments "must be submitted in rich text format (.rtf) or Word (.doc or .docx) or .pdf", not just an email. Anybody who has five spare minutes today, let's get comments submitted and let the FS know that we really don't want Snowbird messing up that canyon any more than they already have!

 

[skiboarder]

They didn't do anything when they put lift or the tunnel in. I don't think they would need to change anything this time. They have a good system of access roads already in place from the resort side. But this is no guarantee. It's good to keep a watch on things, and the notice is appreciated. Plus I will leave a comment, as well as should every one else.

 

[Kevin B.]

They didn't do anything when they put lift or the tunnel in. I don't think they would need to change anything this time. They have a good system of access roads already in place from the resort side. But this is no guarantee. It's good to keep a watch on things, and the notice is appreciated. Plus I will leave a comment, as well as should every one else.

Check out www.afcvision.com, and follow the fine print in the deal Snowbird is making with Save Our Canyons in return for some of their land on the Cottonwood side. Snowbird's end goal is to be 45 minutes closer to the Provo/Orem area. They want a paved AFC road, public transit, ski lodges at the base of Mineral Basin, luxury condos on Miller Hill, and a tram up to the top of Mineral. They are already quietly buying land in Mineral, Mary Ellen, and on Miller Hill. This avalanche cannon (and the lift on top) is part of a process where they will slip development on FS land in under the radar while letting their money work it's magic behind the scenes to get them the access they want, and before we know it AFC will look just like Big and Little Cottonwood canyons - paved, gated, crowded, and tame.

 

[jentzschman]

Check out www.afcvision.com, and follow the fine print in the deal Snowbird is making with Save Our Canyons in return for some of their land on the Cottonwood side. Snowbird's end goal is to be 45 minutes closer to the Provo/Orem area. They want a paved AFC road, public transit, ski lodges at the base of Mineral Basin, luxury condos on Miller Hill, and a tram up to the top of Mineral. They are already quietly buying land in Mineral, Mary Ellen, and on Miller Hill. This avalanche cannon (and the lift on top) is part of a process where they will slip development on FS land in under the radar while letting their money work it's magic behind the scenes to get them the access they want, and before we know it AFC will look just like Big and Little Cottonwood canyons - paved, gated, crowded, and tame.

With all the money and power of SB, I almost hate to say it, but its already a done deal I would wager it is going to happen, just a matter of time. They will work out a deal to paved 85 from top to bottom, at least to their property, and gate the entrance for sure).

 

[skiboarder]

It appears that the cummins family, new owner of snowbird, is friendly and possibly in bed with the Tahoe corp. Tahoe now owns the canyon and park city. Meaning that,if they that is there plan, there is nothing we can do about it. They will just land swap with the forest service. Moreover; it will be us, the tax payer, who will flip the bill for the road improvement.

 

[Kevin B.]

That would suck, if true.

That's absolutely their plan though. Read into the Mountain Accord Blueprint and you'll see a couple lines buried in there where Snowbird swaps land they own on the Cottonwood side for FS land on top of Miller Hill. Here's a quicky Google Earth overlay I threw together showing exactly what land they want to swap - parts of the Mary Ellen, Mineral Basin, and Miller Hill trails are all going to cross Snowbird private property if it goes through.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-W...ew?usp=sharing

 

[Paudrhound]

Check out FB page and get your voices and concerns heard. The voice of the 4WD community needs to be heard. Kurt Williams is now involved but the more voices the better.

https://www.facebook.com/ProtectAmericanForkCanyon

 

[TRD270]

I'm friends with the forest service ranger that runs both areas, he's out of town but I'll pick his brain about what he knows when he's back

 

[jentzschman]

Great link, thank you. Sent emails and invited many friends and family to like the page and get involved. I hope and pray we can keep Snowbird out of Mineral Basin.

 

[Kevin B.]

Snowbird is making with Save Our Canyons

From what I'm seeing on the Facebook page, this is wrong. Save Our Canyons is not on board with Snowbirds' proposed land swap.

 

[sixstringsteve]

We're slowly slipping towards becoming another Kalifornia.

The questions they ask on their page:
Would you like to see public transit (e.g., shuttles or buses) in the canyon to accommodate increasing use? Should the Canyon provide substantially more parking or roadway improvements? Is a transit connection to Snowbird or Sundance, along with resort recreation access, desirable? Where would we place specific projects – more campsites, picnic areas, trails, or other such things, to make an integrated recreation system work?

Could you imagine buses and shuttles up AF Canyon? Or a highway that connects ski areas? I would argue that the integrated recreation system is currently working. Now, if Utah County were to double, as is predicted, it would be even more of a zoo up there. AF canyon is a treasure and if these changes were made, it would lose its appeal.

 

[JL Rockies]

It's a slippery slope (insert Joseph's rants against Fed land ownership here) and speaking as someone who no longer has a dog in the fight since I moved away would point out that there are free market solutions to this problem.
Since its Fed land, the Fed is going to swap it no matter what you think. Increasing access to the canyons and more infrastructure will only make AF Canyon more relevant and give the office greater operational capital. Relevance is key to working for government.

I suggest that you campaign directly against Snowbird and boycott, encourage others to do so as well.
The Fed doesn't care about you and it appears that Save Our Canyons have sold you out.
There are plenty of enviro psychos that would love to take up this fight and plenty of other places to ski for the environmentally conscious traveler.


Utah Bureau of Awesomeness Department.

 

[sixstringsteve]

doesn't snowbird own most of that side of AF Canyon anyway? (miller hill, mineral basin, etc)

 

[skiboarder]

doesn't snowbird own most of that side of AF Canyon anyway? (miller hill, mineral basin, etc)

They do now. They have been buying up that land quietly for some time now.
Boycotting the bird would do nothing. The skiers and boarders there are as fanatical about that resort as we are about wheeling.

 

[JL Rockies]

So give up. Asking the Fed to intervene in issues of private property rights is a big deal.
If there was no Fed involvement, it's would be a local issue easily handled at the local level. But I won't go into that all over again... it drives the cool kids crazy when I do.


Utah Bureau of Awesomeness Department.

 

[skiboarder]

A very similar thing happened at snow basin. They built the road over trappers loop. They did this all with a land swap and eminate domain laws. Built for the resort using our tax dollars

 

[clfrnacwby]

Just got this info...

This Memorial Day weekend the American Fork Canyon Vision (AFC Vision) project team will be conducting mobile workshops throughout the Canyon to hear from users regarding their ideas, concerns, and needs in the Canyon. The goal of this process is to shape, via public collaboration, a formal vision for the future of the Canyon. Please feel free to share this email and schedule with anyone who may be interested. This schedule and additional project information is also posted on our website and on our Facebook page:

http://afcvision.com/schedule/
https://www.facebook.com/afcvision

Memorial Day Mobile Workshops
Found at multiple locations in the Canyon


Saturday, May 23rd
8:00 – 10:00am: Granite Flat Campground
10:00 – 12:00pm: Tibble Fork Reservoir
12:00 – 2:00pm: Timpooneke Trailhead
2:00 – 4:00pm: Timpanogos Cave National Monument


Monday, May 25th
7:00 – 9:00am: Mt. Timpanogos Campground
9:00 – 11:00pm: Salamander Flat
11:00 – 1:00pm: Holman Flat
1:00 – 3:00pm: North Mill/Grey Cliffs


For more information contact: Whitney May, wmay@logansimpson.com

 

[cruiseroutfit]

If you go, be very vocal about your want, need and desire for continued motorized access in the canyon. We (AFC Action team) will be hosting some letter writing parties. More on that later.

 

[TRD270]

Talked to my friend in the forest service today, its his opinion this probably won't happen due to the amount of wilderness in the proposed land grab. He says however, the owner of snowbird has a lot of friends in DC and deep pockets so you never know. He's going to bring it up in staff meeting this Tuesday and told me he will let me know if any public forum meetings pop up.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Cedar Hills has a bad mayor!

http://www.le.utah.gov/Interim/2014/pdf/00002741.pdf

Pay close attention to 3e

"American Fork Gondola EIS (Dated February 11, 2014)

Rep. Michael S. Kennedy presented the $500,000 request for planning of American Fork Canyon.

Gary Gygi, Mayor, Cedar Hills, presented the plan for a gondola to expand managed recreation up American Fork Canyon. The request was to fund an environmental impact study.

Rep. Anderegg asked if there had been discussion with UTA for access up and down the canyon, had there been discussion of interlinking ski resorts, what obstacles might there be with private land, and were there environmental issues. Mayor Gygi stated UTA supports transporting people up and down the canyon, Snowbird and Alta are somewhat linked, and the forest service stated the location of the gondola would not pose any problems.

Rep. Hemmingway asked what recreation is available up the canyon. Mayor Gigi stated year round recreation. Rep. Kennedy added the opportunity to ride above the terrain without damaging public lands."


This is going to get rammed down our throats on our current trajectory!