The following is a Save Our Canyons Brochure published March 15, 1997:

Without Your
HELP
There will be Five More Years
of Unfettered Heli-Skiing in the Wasatch

Can your conscience bear such a grim burden?



HELICOPTER SKIING IN THE WASATCH*

Wasatch Powderbird Guides (WPG) commenced operations in the mid-1970's,
with the Forest Service acting as a kindly Junior Achievement counselor for
the fledgling enterprise. The pampering of Powderbirds continued through
the mid-1980's, when Powderbird Guides proponent Sen. Jake Garn
cherry-stemmed several heli-skied drainages out of the Olympus and Twin
Peaks wilderness areas. (His legislation, however, provided for continued
Forest Service regulation of heli-ski activities on the terrain
withdrawn.).

Twenty years later, WPG appears to have matured into a spoiled Junior
Achiever Run Amok. The heli-ski operators now have more written complaints
lodged against them than the combined complaints lodged against all other
permittees who conduct business on lands administered by the Salt Lake
Ranger District.

By the end of l990, Forest Service officials had permitted WPG to
assimilate into their permit most of the skiable non-wilderness terrain in
the nearby Wasatch Mountains. At the same time the ranks of back country
winter recreationists had increased phenomenally. Concerned tourers soon
began asking Forest officials how they could justify allowing a very small
and exclusive group of heli-skiers to spoil and endanger the back country
recreational experiences of so many. Many canyon property owners also began
complaining of unacceptable noise levels generated by helicopter over
flights.

When the heli-ski Special Use Permit came up for renewal in January,
1991, forest officials initiated a mediation process to resolve friction
between back country skiers and heli-ski operators. The back country
skiers' goal was a resolution of conflicts. In a lavish brochure
distributed to their clientele, the concession's managers declared that
their permit could not be revised "to the satisfaction of both parties,"
essentially a No Compromise position. Use patterns proposed by back
country advocates that would have assured both user groups equal access to
undisturbed terrain were rejected by heli-ski officials.

After the failure of mediation, Forest officials continued the permit
renewal process. During a crowded meeting at the Whitmore Library later
that year, Forest Supervisor Susan Giannettino announced some mitigating
measures to be imposed on WPG's operations. Hardly had the Forest Service
official concluded when an agitated heli-guide dramatically announced the
consequence: Wasatch Powderbird Guides was going out of business!
It wasn't true! Within a few months the Regional Forester relaxed some of
Giannettino's measures and directed forest personnel to develop a
monitoring system to ascertain conflicts. The stage was now set for the
1997 edition of the permit renewal process.

Today, heli-skiing regulation proponents are armed with reams of data on
conflicts and more and diverse allegations of heli-skiing abuses: Leaders
of a Girl Scout camp near Provo have threatened to have heli-skiers
arrested for trespassing. Wasatch Mountain State Park and Provo City
officials have complained of WPG's unauthorized use of public roads for
staging. A canyon landowner has complained of unwelcome landings on his
property. Salt Lake resident Ellie Ienatsch has observed the WPG copter
repeatedly spook a golden eagle from its nesting site in Big Cottonwood
Canyon. Such thoughtless fly-by's, she believes, may have resulted in the
deaths of several eaglets.

Individuals urging curtailment of copter skiing will be confronted with
"heli-myths" promulgated by WPG's employees, clients, and backers. "We were
there long before the tourers," some will claim, ignorant of the fact that
skiers have toured the Wasatch since the early 1920's. Others will insist
that the noise output of the copter is no louder than that of a bus.
"Tourers have all the wilderness areas to tour in," some will argue, not
realizing that none other than WPG's owner Greg Smith has pronounced such
lands unsuitable for ordinary cross-country use. Due to "the steepness of
topography and the severity of high altitude conditions," Smith wrote to
the Forest Service, "large tracts of the Wasatch in general and the Lone
Peak Wilderness Area specifically are less than ideal for cross-country
(lightweight) use."

In the current permit process, the Forest Service intends to make a
decision that will be easy to understand, easy to monitor, fair to back
country users and is "relevant to the situation today." WPG's effects on
wildlife (primarily golden eagles), public safety, and private property
rights are issues targeted for analysis. Proposed alternatives, forest
officials state, "will consider limits on the number of helicopters used
and/or helicopter days in certain circuits."

One of the Forest Service's proposed alternatives would not renew the
permit. Another alternative would prohibit heli-skiing during weekends in
the tri-canyons area.

This publication, prepared by the Citizens' Committee to SAVE OUR
CANYONS, discusses the organization's concerns with respect to public
safety, and wildlife. A five-year Summary of Heli-skiing activities and
SAVE OUR CANYONS' proposals concludes this publication.

*Adapted from Wasatch Mountain Times, March 13, 1997

HELICOPTER HAZARDS IN THE WASATCH*

Commercial helicopter skiing recreation is authorized by the U.S. Forest
Service on lands under its jurisdiction. A Special Use Permit system is
intended to assure that concessionaires operate safely, responsibly, and
with proper training, equipment, insurance, etc. If the number of written
complaints to local officials of the Forest Service is any indication, the
WPG concession may be operating too often in an unsafe and irresponsible
manner. Based on content of numerous letters of complaint, official "for
the record" memoranda, and other public communications obtained through the
Freedom of Information Act and other means, hazards that may be initiated
by heli-skiing fall into three clearly defined categories: Direct
Heli-hazards, Indirect Heli-hazards, and Latent Heli-hazards.

Direct Heli-Hazards

Direct heli-hazards include flying or landing of helicopters above
tourers, skiing above tourers, and setting off explosives while conducting
avalanche control work.

Salt Lake back country skier Lori Webb described the following incident:
"As much as possible we carefully choose a safe route away from avalanche
paths. Another party of skiers was making a higher traverse in the same
area. My partner and I were halfway up the slope when a helicopter flew
through the pass just barely above the top of the pass. The reverberation
of the helicopter blades set off three avalanches. The other ski party
shouted to us 'Avalanche!' We skied down and out of the path of the slide
. . . the incident certainly points out the conflicts that will continually
arise when helicopter skiing is permitted in areas frequented by winter
mountaineers."

Craig W. Beasley, Salt Lake, described an incident that especially
concerned him: "Four people, including myself, were just below the ridge
removing our climbing skins in preparation for a descent into Days Fork.
While doing so, a Powderbird Guides helicopter attempted three landings
directly above us during exceedingly windy conditions. The helicopter was
unable to stabilize and could not land until the fourth attempt." Because
Mr. Beasley had worked on a mountain rescue team for four years, he was
very aware of hazards associated with operation of helicopters in windy and
high altitude conditions. "All four of us felt that the helicopter
hovering overhead jeopardized our safety."

On a Saturday in mid-December 1992, Victor Heilweil, his wife Ann, and
two friends were touring in the upper regions of Big Cottonwood Canyon's
Silver Fork when they were subjected to a very unpleasant and dangerous
encounter with a group of heli-skiers. In a complaint to the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), Mr. Heilweil described the incident:

"My wife and I were traversing along the ridge towards Flagstaff Peak when
a helicopter landed right between us, easily within 30 feet of each of us.
It was so close that the intense wind and blast of snow that it created
nearly knocked me over. . . . As I passed one of the guides, he asked me
how I was doing in a pleasant manner, and I responded that I thought it was
unnecessarily dangerous for the helicopter to land so close to us. He then
completely changed his tone of voice and stated that he had authority from
the Alta Sheriff's Department to have me arrested for obstructing the
landing of the helicopter, and threatened to physically force me into the
helicopter and transport me down to the Sheriff's Office. He also asked
for my name so that he could call up 'the authorities' on his
walkie-talkie."

Mr. Heilweil suggested to the FAA that the heli-ski concession should
abide by "some sort of safety code while operating aircraft on public lands
where other people are present" and that the heli-ski operators "have more
flexibility in their flight plans, so that if they see other back country
users, they are able to land elsewhere and avoid this type of
confrontation."

DANGER - Explosives on the Mountain. "I write this to protest the actions
and philosophy with which WPG uses explosives in the back country," a very
agitated Utah Avalanche Forecast Center hazard forecaster Brad Meiklejohn
wrote in a "for the record" memo early in 1991. "My sense is that WPG
likes to throw explosives and likes to see avalanches run." To emphasize
his point Meiklejohn enumerated one special use permit violation "wherein
they produced avalanches . . . in an area they do not ski "and several
examples of excessive bombardment episodes. "As an individual and a
professional," he concluded his letter, "I am indignant."
In a January, 1990 letter urging officials of the Wasatch/Cache National
Forest to curtail or to limit the heli-ski operation's use of explosives,
American Avalanche Institute's president Rod Newcomb expressed concern for
the safety of back country tourers: "When Powderbird Guides began using
explosive testing for stability evaluation, the density of skiers in the
Wasatch was low. As the years have gone by, the numbers of back country
skiers has increased. . . . I feel it is only a matter of time before one
of the triggered avalanches encounters a person hidden in the trees below
an avalanche path. This will not only be an avoidable accident, it will
very likely result in restrictions for other permittees, such as myself, in
the use of explosives."


Indirect Heli-Hazards

Though "indirect" heli-hazards may be somewhat more subtle than the direct
variety, because of their relationship to avalanche bombing they may be
equally dangerous.


Sympathetic Avalanche Releases: Any time an avalanche starts to run down a
slope or a chute, the air and ground vibrations it generates may trigger
avalanches in adjacent---or nearby---slopes or gullies. Such avalanche
releases are called sympathetic releases. Forest Service manuals
frequently warn avalanche workers to be especially cautious of such
releases when firing artillery to stabilize slopes. The devastating
January 1996 Bridal Veil Falls avalanche that destroyed the lower tram
terminal was initiated by an avalanche that descended adjacent Bunnel's
Fork.

Latent Heli-Hazards

Post-Control Releases: "If an explosive fails to release an avalanche,"
international avalanche authority Ron Perla writes, "it may in fact weaken
rather than stabilize a slope." Perla explains that explosive control is
most effective on slopes that are heavily skied, and hence compacted such
that underlying layers offer solid support. "This is usually the case
within developed ski areas. In the back-country, this is usually not the
case. Any snow slab, over a weak base, that fails to release when bombed,
may be made into a hair trigger trap to be set off by a ski tourer."
Post-control release is another hazard that may be associated with the
heli-ski concession's use of explosives. At least one of WPG's three
"serious" avalanche incidents occurred on a slope that had been tested with
explosives. Forest Service case histories also document numerous
instances of post-control avalanches that have entrapped and injured skiers
even though the slopes had been blasted and skied. n

** Condensed from the Aeronautical Hazards section of WASATCH TOURS, Vol. I
(1993) by A.Kelner and D. Hanscom


SAVE OUR CANYONS believes that a safety code should become part of the
permit. Without clearly defined safety rules, the Forest Service may be
held liable for death or injury caused by a heli-initiated accident. The
permit should include the following:

* Helicopter landings should not be permitted above back country
users on terrain below.

* Prudent back country practice dictates that tourers not endanger
others by skiing or traversing above them. The heli-ski operation should
be required to follow similar practices.

* Explicit rules for the use of explosives should be established and
rigidly enforced.

* Penalties for infractions should be initiated. (Penalties could
include reduction of allotted user days.)

HELI-SKIING ENDANGERS GOLDEN EAGLES

What happens when a helicopter flies repeatedly past a brooding golden
eagle? During April, 1995, in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Laker Ellie
Ienatsch witnessed firsthand the tragic consequences. Her observations were
recounted by Christopher Smart in the February, 1996 issue of the Wasatch
Mountain Times:
"Last spring, on April 1, as Ellie was watching the female golden eagle sit
atop her nest and eggs, a helicopter flew by, quite close to the nest. Then
it flew by again. And again. And again.
With each pass, the eagle ruffled her feathers and flapped her wings but
sat back on the nest. Until one more pass and she flew away, not returning
for several hours. . . .ten days later, the events repeated themselves. She
saw that the helicopter for the Wasatch Powderbird Guides was dropping
skiers off at the top of the mountain and then swooping around to pick them
up at the bottom. It would then pick them up and so on, over and over
again.
Each pass seemed to startle the female eagle, Ellie says, until she was
finally driven from the nest. On that occasion the female bird did not
return until after dark or the next day."

The eagle's eggs, Ellie believes, died during the initial nest
abandonment. Her concerns for the welfare of the eagles prompted her to
relate her observations to the Forest Service, Hawk Watch International,
and to contact the local media. The Forest Service discussed the situation
with WPG's management and received assurances that heli-ski pilots would
avoid flying near known aeries. They failed to extract a promise that all
flying would cease in nesting areas during nesting--generally commencing
early to mid-March.
What appeared to be the conclusion to the problem was only the beginning.
Aware of WPG's apparent inclination to make--and then to break--promises,
Mrs. Ienatsch intended to "camp at the Forest Service's door" if the
copters began nest-disturbing fly-by's. Determined to make the 1997 permit
renewal decision "one based on facts and creditable analyses," Salt Lake
District Ranger Mike Sieg directed ecologist Keith Clapier and wildlife
biologist Larry Rickards to prepare a Biological Assessment dealing with
Golden Eagles.
In preparation of the Assessment Clapier perused the literature and
contacted several raptor experts working in the Rocky Mountain Region and
Alaska. Some summaries and quotations from his findings:

Habitat: Golden eagles prefer large trees and cliffs for roosting and
perching. Elevated nest sites, especially cliffs, that are isolated from
human disturbance and are close to hunting areas, are preferred for
nesting.

Courtship: Golden eagles probably pair for life. Their interest in each
other and in their nesting sites is most highly manifested in the winter
and early spring. There is evidence that the courtship period which begins
as early as February may be a critical time.

Nesting: A pair of eagles may alternate between several nests in different
years although one may be favored over the others. Nestings along the
Wasatch Front begin early to mid-March.

Egg Laying and Incubation: Incubation period is believed to be about 42-45
days. The egg laying and incubation stages of nesting as well as the two
to three week period just after hatching are extremely sensitive periods
wherein disturbance should be minimized. Eagles that are disturbed and
leave their nests abruptly may inadvertently break eggs or injure the
young. Also during this period the eaglets are not able to thermo-regulate
their own body temperature so if the adult eagles leave the nest for any
long period of time there is the risk of chilling the egg or the young."

Disturbance: A number of individuals who have worked with bald and golden
eagles for 20-25 years in both Utah and Idaho had basically the same
opinion: the U.S. Forest Service should try to reduce disturbance to golden
eagles during the nesting period whenever possible.

Disturbance by Helicopters: Teryl Grubb (author of Variations in Breeding
Bald Eagle Response to Jets, Light Planes, and Helicopters ) says the
"hopping across ridges" by helicopters has a startling and disturbing
effect on raptors. Of all the years he has studied eagles, helicopters
almost always evoked evasive flight whereas fixed-wing aircraft seldom
resulted in adult eagles fleeing the nest.

In his golden eagle literature search Keith Clapier suggested a number of
possible mitigation measures:

* "Disturbance," Clapier writes, "is a very broad impact category
that includes everything from causing a bird to flush from a perch to
preventing a brooding adult from feeding its young. This is where timing of
the disturbance becomes critical."

* Studies have shown that most raptors are especially sensitive
during three stages of nesting. Because it is difficult to discern the time
periods of each stage and in order to preclude disturbing activity during
non-nesting periods, in an ideal world, it would be advantageous to
establish a year-round no fly buffer zone.

* Establishment of "buffer zones." All experts Clapier contacted
agreed that in order to reduce impacts to nesting eagles, you need both
spatial and temporal buffer zones. For U.S. Forest Service lands this is
usually a quarter mile diameter dome-shaped space.

* Flight Paths: With WPG's operation, two main factors are
potentially disruptive to the nesting eagles: 1) the flying overhead; and
2) the landings and takeoffs both on ridges and drainages. These can exceed
50 per day. The least disruptive flight paths should be way off to the
side where the nesting birds can see the helicopter and are not startled or
way above them, at least 2000 feet."n


SAVE OUR CANYONS believes that golden eagles are a resource as important as
commercial heli-skiing. The Forest Service should implement enforceable
policies to protect golden eagles from WPG 's overflights.

* Establish year-round no-flight buffer zones in areas affected.

* Terminate helicopter skiing after March 1 in active nesting areas

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED FOREST SERVICE ALTERNATIVES

The Wasatch Powderbird Guides (WPG) special use permit expires in June
1997 and the company is requesting a new permit for another five year
term.. The Forest Service is inviting public input on the issues and
alternatives that need to be addressed in its environmental analysis of
this request.

The preliminary alternatives being considered by the Forest Service are:

Alternative A - No permit would be issued. (The required No Action
Alternative).

Alternative B (WPG's Proposal) - A permit would be issued to allow
helicopter skiing under the same terms and conditions as the existing
permit.
Alternative C - This Alternative would allow helicopter skiing in the
"tri-canyon" area of the Wasatch on week days (Monday - Friday) only.

Alternative D - This Alternative would allow helicopter skiing in the
"tri-canyon" area of the Wasatch on weekdays (Monday - Friday) and
alternating weekends.

Alternative E - This Alternative would allow helicopter skiing in the
"tri-canyon" area of the Wasatch on week days (Monday - Friday) and even
numbered weekend days.

Alternatives will consider limits on the number of helicopters used and/or
helicopter days in certain circuits.



The Forest Service wants to know if there are additional issues or
alternatives they should consider. The public comment period ends on April
7 so act now to help eliminate and/or curtail the heli-skiing concession.
Send your comments to

MICHAEL SIEG, District Ranger
Salt Lake Ranger District
6944 S. 3000 E.
Salt Lake City, UT 84121

Please keep in mind that failure to actively promote good alternatives may
lead to five more years of unfettered heli-use and abuse. No one's
conscience should have to bear such a grim burden.

FIVE YEAR SUMMARY OF BI-WEEKLY HELI-SKI REPORTS
Year	Days Flown	Days in Northern Powder Circuit	Percent of days in NPC	Guests	Bombs	Season
92	53	33	62%	818	222	Dec 20 - April 11
93	64	47	73%	1215	277	Nov 29 - April 29
94	52	38	73%	1024	256	Jan 12 - April 16
95	66	40	60%	1193	250	Dec 19 - April 25
96	56	32	57%	1025	123	Jan 7 - April 15

* Information comes from heli-ski reports prepared by WPG and
submitted to the Salt Lake Ranger District, Wasatch-Cache National Forest.
* The Northern Powder Circuit (NPC) includes the Big Cottonwood
drainages of Mineral, Cardiff, Days and Silver Forks.



SAVE OUR CANYONS' (SOC) POSITION

This is a brief summary of a more detailed recommendation.

Goal: Eliminate, or as a compromise, substantially reduce noise and user
conflicts caused by heli-ski activity and helicopter canyon over flights.
Balance WPG activity with residential and commercial growth and ever
increasing dispersed winter back country use in the Central Wasatch.


SOC ALTERNATIVE 1

(No Action) No renewal of the heli-ski permit. Medical and/or County
helicopters would continue to conduct any necessary rescues and UDOT would
contract with private or public agencies for highway avalanche control
work.


SOC ALTERNATIVE 2

* WPG will stage, base, fly or operate no more than one commercial
helicopter in the Central Wasatch at any time.

* Various terrains would be subject to limitations on the total number of
days of heli-ski operation.

* The heli-ski season would be limited to December 15 - March 15
inclusive, with some exceptions for the American Fork region. This policy
would be easy to manage and would still allow WPG to operate in excess of
their five year historical use.

* SOC suggests that either WPG not fly or ski in the Central Wasatch on
Friday, Saturday and Sunday or, alternatively, that WPG would not fly or
ski in the Central Wasatch for more than 6 weekends in the December 15 to
March 15 season.

* Heli-free circuits would be instituted in the Millcreek, Lambs Canyon,
Park City, and Snake Creek areas.


Contact SAVE OUR CANYONS if you are interested in further details of this
proposal. Call 363-SAVE and leave your name and address.




Comment Deadline: April 7
Citizens' Committee SAVE OUR CANYONS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
founded in 1972 that is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the
Wasatch canyons from excessive development. We prod officials from the
Forest Service, County Commissions, Planning Commissions and water
departments to make decisions in favor of the public's long-term interest
in open space and dispersed recreation, and we appeal when we conclude they
have unnecessarily accommodated developers. We work with other
environmental organizations and try to involve the public as much as
possible.

363-SAVE (363-7283)

info@saveourcanyons.org

http://www.saveourcanyons.org


Important
Heli-ski meeting
on
March 24
7:00 pm

A panel discussion
Sponsered by the Forest Service

Whitmore Library
2197 E. 7000 S.
Salt Lake City

Important
Heli-ski meeting

See back cover for details