“Why should the public feel pressured to give up 12,000 acres of land so a handful of people can essentially benefit from elevated real estate prices?” he asked.
Ever since Lolo rancher Tom Maclay announced his intention to build a world-class resort on his property at the base of the Bitterroot Mountains, people haven't hesitated to speak out against his idea of incorporating public lands.
Both the Bitterroot and Lolo national forests are currently updating the land-use plans that will establish their management direction for the next decade or so. Their final decisions are due this spring.
Clark and others hope the agency will stick to its guns and retain the semi-primitive nature of Lolo Peak and Carlton Ridge.
“We're very concerned about that public resource above Maclay's property,” Clark said. “We have a real opportunity to preserve a piece of public land that currently is working for us.”
Clark said the area is popular with hikers and hunters, provides important wildlife habitat and is an important piece of the Missoula area's landscape. Those values need to be protected, he said.
“A Sonoran Institute study looked at counties throughout the West,” Clark said. “The counties doing the best economically were positioned close to public lands. People are drawn here by our pristine public lands and ample wildlife.”
But that could change if the ski area development occurs, he said.
“There will be a major cluster of ski runs right through the main hiking trail people now use to access Carlton Ridge,” Clark said. “That will wipe it out in essence. The traditional hiking access will either be gone or heavily impacted.”
Hunting isn't normally allowed at ski areas.
“There's a herd of about 125 elk that use Carlton Ridge and Mormon Creek,” he said. “The local biologist told me it's the largest herd on the west side of Bitterroot north of Hamilton. That is a good resource that hunters will lose.”
The vista south of Missoula will also change, he said.
“People need to consider the sheer size of this proposal,” Clark said. “Snowbowl is on 1,138 acres of public land. Everyone knows what that landscape looks like Š nearly all of Carlton Ridge can be seen from Missoula. You wouldn't be able to miss seeing it from town.”
Bitterroot Resort is also asking the Forest Service to change management on thousands of acres of inventoried roadless area, he said.
“If this proposal was approved, we'd lose 5,457 acres of the 16,000-acre Lolo Creek inventoried roadless area,” he said. “That's 5,400 acres of roadless land gone in one action. It's something this state hasn't seen on any other national forest.”
The geology of at least a portion of Carlton Ridge is also unstable, Clark said.
Bruce and Mary Maclay successfully sued the Forest Service in 1994 after roadwork completed by the agency years before caused a landslide. That same landslide is now a half mile long and 200 feet wide, Clark said.
“The potential for landslides in that area are very real,” he said. “Any time you start building roads or cutting large swaths of trees, it only increases that potential.
“There are just a lot of issues that need to be considered. I think it would be a shame to lose that pristine resource forever.”
Reporter Perry Backus can be reached at 523-5259 or at pbackus@missoulian.com.
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