Environmental groups are expected to file a lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S. Forest Service's decision over Snowbird's expansion plans.

"We are taking this course because the future of development in the Wasatch Mountains is at stake," Gale Dick, president of Save Our Canyons, said in a prepared statement Monday.

The lawsuit was announced by Save Our Canyons, a Salt Lake-based group of the Sierra Club. Wasatch Mountain Club also joined the lawsuit.

The groups contend the Forest Service failed to consider the environmental effects of a proposed 50,000-square-foot structure atop Hidden Peak — the 11,000-foot peak where the tram ends.

Bob Swinford, spokesman for the regional office of the Forest Service in Ogden, wouldn't comment on the lawsuit because he hadn't seen it.

On Dec. 10, officials from the Wasatch-Cache and Uinta national forests approved a master plan for Snowbird that allows the company to build its mega-building. The Forest Service scaled it back from Snowbird's original proposal calling for a 78,000-square-foot building. The master plan also allowed Snowbird to expand southward onto agency land into Mineral Fork.

Efforts by Save Our Canyons to block Snowbird's development plans were rejected in March. Snowbird also appealed the management plan approved by the two forests, claiming it places unreasonable restrictions on the company. That appeal also was rejected.

"The only recourse at this stage is to pursue a remedy in federal court," Dick said.

Save Our Canyons also contends the Hidden Peak structure violates Salt Lake County zoning ordinances.

In March, commissioners postponed a decision on a new zoning that would allow for a restaurant and eventually a liquor license as part of the proposed building.

Commissioners will consider the zoning issue Wednesday. Save Our Canyons will argue to hold off on a decision because of the pending lawsuit.

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"The Salt Lake County commissioners will again be asked by Save Our Canyons and other groups to reject or postpone this decision until a final determination is made on the structure," said Gavin Noyes, issues coordinator for Save Our Canyons.

In its appeal, Dick says the Forest Service failed to recognize the inter-relatedness of the Mineral Basin development on Forest Service land when it gave its approval.

Dick called the decision, "a tangled situation at best and not a happy omen for development on public lands."


You can reach Donna M. Kemp by e-mail at donna@desnews.com

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