Council resolution raises Mt. A concerns

The proposed Mount Ashland ski area expansion hit another bump in the road this week.

The Ashland City Council will consider Tuesday whether to request the U.S. Forest Service and Mount Ashland Association hold off from timber cutting in the expansion area until district and appellate courts make final rulings in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against Regional Forester Linda Goodman.

Judge Owen M. Panner heard oral arguments Monday for the Oregon Natural Resources Council et al. versus Linda Goodman. He is in the process of making a decision, and some Ashland residents are worried the expansion will begin before plaintiffs can appeal if Panner rules against them.

"Let's say the judge rules in favor of the Forest Service," Ashland City Councilor David Chapman said. "There's a small window of time where if somebody wanted to they could go in there and cut trees before the plaintiffs file an appeal. All this would do is make a resolution to ask them not to."

The City of Ashland holds a special use permit through the U.S. Forest Service, and the Mount Ashland Association operates it on Forest Service land. With the legal proceedings in limbo, some residents fear logging will begin soon. At the same time, the Mount Ashland Association worries the city's adoption of this resolution could hinder its business.

The Mount Ashland Association believes the resolution could cut into ticket sales.

"The city is potentially interfering with our ability to run our business," said Kim Clark, general manager for the Mount Ashland ski area.

After City Administrator Martha Bennett, sent the resolution to the association, Clark and Mount Ashland Association President Bill Little expressed concerns it would interfere with their ability to raise money for the proposed expansion.

Environmental groups, the Mount Ashland Association and the Forest Service have been tangled in the judicial process since 2004, when the Oregon Natural Resources Council, Headwaters and the Rogue Group Sierra Club filed suit against Regional Forester Linda Goodman, claiming a final environmental impact statement for the ski area expansion did not properly assess its effects on erosion and habitat for wildlife like the sensitive Pacific Fisher. Environmental activist Eric Navickas filed a separate lawsuit.

The proposed expansion area is in the City of Ashland's municipal watershed. Because of a memorandum of understanding with the Forest Service, parties have to consult the city before removing timber in the watershed. The city holds a special use permit and leases it to the ski area, giving them the leverage of input in its operations.

Clark said the issue is between the three parties in the lawsuit, and the city should not interfere. The Mount Ashland Association contacted its lawyer about the resolution, but Clark said it is not planning to take legal action against the city.

"It's a ploy of possible interference in the judicial process," Clark said.

In the ski area summer work plan, which it presents to the Forest Service annually, the Mount Ashland Association stated it would not begin clearing timber in the 71-acre expansion area any sooner than mid-September. The worry for plaintiffs in the case is that the judge will rule near Sept. 15, and timber cutting will begin before they have time to file for an appeal.

"Our concern is if the Mount Ashland Association, goes in during that window," said Tom Dimitre, chair of the Rogue Group Sierra Club.

Meanwhile, the Mount Ashland Association sent an e-mail to its supporters this week requesting they attend Tuesday's council meeting "to show the Ashland City Council that some who oppose the project are not speaking for the entire community."

The anxiety for those on both sides appeared to rise after Monday's oral arguments, and comments to the city council shifted more in favor of the expansion this week, Bennett said.

"In the last five days, e-mails in favor of the ski area expansion have started to come in," she said.

Staff writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456 x 227 or apanebaker@dailytidings.com.