No appeals: Green light for Mt. Bachelor expansion
No appeals have been filed with the Deschutes National Forest challenging approval of the Mt. Bachelor Ski Area Improvement Project during the 45 day appeal period, which ended this week, clearing the way for work to begin, the resort said Friday.
Approval of the project was provisionally granted in a Record of Decision by the Deschutes National Forest on Feb. 13, pending a required 45-day appeal period from the date of notice published in the Federal Register, during which appeals of the Forest Service’s decision could be submitted.
No appeals were submitted during the period, which ended on Monday, but required waiting until Friday to confirm no appeals were sent by mail.
The approval sets in motion implementation of the first updated Master Development Plan for Mt. Bachelor in 32 years, including new year-round activities, services and infrastructure for the resort to be constructed over the next decade.
“This marks the completion of a long process,” said Dave Rathbun, Mt. Bachelor’s president and general manager.
“That process involved a tremendous amount of input from a number of people, including the local community, the Forest Service, Cirrus Ecological Solutions and other consultants, and countless hours of planning and hard work by the Mt. Bachelor staff led by Tom Lomax, director of mountain operations,” he said. “I sincerely thank them all for their commitment and support over these last four years.”
Aspects of the plan, including new lifts and trails on the east side of the mountain, base area infrastructure, summer activities including downhill mountain biking, and other improvements, will help Mt. Bachelor attract more visitors to the Bend area year-round, Rathbun said.
A timetable for when Mt. Bachelor expects to begin construction on specific projects in the plan is in development, with details expected to be available and released within the next two weeks.
For details on Mt. Bachelor’s Master Development Plan, visit;
— http://www.mtbachelor.com/winter/info/forest_service_info/index.html
— http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/nepa_project_exp.php?project=35863
About Mt. Bachelor: Mt. Bachelor is the largest ski resort in the Cascade Range, offering 3,683 acres of lift-accessible terrain. The mountain features 10 lifts, seven of which are Express Quads, plus two tubing lifts and two beginner carpets and an average annual snowfall of 387 inches. Mt. Bachelor also features 5 terrain parks, 2 half pipes, 56K of groomed and tracked cross country trails, snowshoeing, tubing, sled dog rides and summer attractions. For weather conditions, news and events visit www.mtbachelor.com.
