ALBION BASIN IMPERILED -- ATTENTION SUMMER AND WINTER VISITORS

A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) relating to projects proposed by Alta Ski Lifts Company has been issued by the Forest Service. This document is 286 pages long , complicated, and detailed. It discusses proposed projects and their impacts, for example, on water and air quality, wildlife, wetlands, plants, birds, traffic, the visual quality of the region.

A number of the proposed projects should be of interest to all users of Albion Basin - skiers, hikers, picnickers, bird watchers, and wildflower viewers alike.

The proposed alterations are supposed, among other things, to improve circulation of skiers, improve the early season skiing experience for novice to intermediate skiers, and improve operating efficiency of the ski area. There would be, of course, a price to pay.

Here are a few quotes from the DEIS which give a flavor of what is being planned in some alternative proposal or another. Those of you who have seen the rubble and destruction that mar the Basin as a result of similar undertakings north of Cecret Lake in 1992 will have a good idea of what to expect. All quotes (not the headings) are verbatim from the DEIS.

* ALTERATIONS TO DEVIL'S ELBOW, ROLLER COASTER, AND CROOKED MILE SKI TRAIL IN ALBION BASIN

...Upon completion, trails would have continuous ground disturbance (dozed and graded) for the length of the project similar to the work completed on upper Devil's Elbow in 1992 and be approximately 75 to 100 feet in width (and extending for lengths up to 1000 feet).

... This would be accomplished by removing surface rock, rock outcrops, grading, and minor tree removal.

... Approximately 325 feet of perennial streams that crisscross the Crooked Mile trail would be filled with small bouldery rocks...

...Proposed blasting and removal of existing granite outcrops are in very close proximity to a trail.

...The blasting of polished rock would represent an irreversible and irretrievable loss of a resource.

* SUNNYSIDE LIFT REPLACEMENT

...approximately 96 trees (45 sub alpine fir and 51 Engelmann spruce) greater than 6 inches in diameter would be removed.

* AUGMENTED SNOWMAKING

...At completion, approximately 1.7 miles of snowmaking and other utility lines would be buried with a disturbance width corridor estimated at 30 feet.

...The Ski Area would also drill a slanted shaft above the Monkey Hump area into Cecret Lake...to remove water from the lake during snowmaking operations.

* "RE"VEGETATION

...areas that are cleared and graded...would be converted from the existing vegetation type to seeded ski trail vegetation.

* "DUMBING DOWN OF ALTA"

...terrain modifications would change the pitches of specific runs to increase the Ski Area's intermediate terrain by two acres and decrease the advanced terrain by the same amount....The trail modifications would "improve the skiability" of the entire ski area. quotes added

* THE VALUE OF ALBION BASIN AS A VISUAL RESOURCE ,,,Little Cottonwood Canyon, especially Albion Basin, is a popular destination for summer visitors who come to experience the magnificent wildflowers, the mountain scenery with its unique geological formations, and to hike, bike or camp...Because Albion Basin is a major attraction on the Wasatch Front, and use has dramatically increased in recent years, any changes to the scenic quality of the area, whether large or small, should be carefully analyzed for their impact on the area's scenic attractiveness.