Appeals put the brakes on Stevens bike park

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Appeals put the brakes on Stevens bike park

Environmental group says Forest Service hasn’t addressed impacts to wildlife, including wolverines

By Brian Adamowsky
World sports writer

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

timrice 2 years, 11 months ago

wolverines?roflmfao I've been thru those woods for almost 40 years.If they are up there.I would have seen them.I agree with you Justin,those people are just trying to save a tree or two,and don't have any real reason to be appealing anything!Where'd they bring this guy who brought up wolverines?Canada,Russia,Berlin! Still laughing my ass off,on that one!

NotMatt 2 years, 11 months ago

Wolverines? Seriously? You can tell their grasping at straws when they only thing they can come up with to keep MTB's out of the forest is "Wolverines". The Sierra Club and their ilk think the forest belongs to them and to them only, they don't want to share... THAT is the reason for these appeals. I'm an avid outdoorsman... I hike, I mountain bike, I ride dual sport bikes, I 4wheel, I fish. I believe there is room for everyone to recreate outdoors and the close-minded selfish stance the Sierra Club and others like it take disgusts me. Let's hope whoever gets to ultimately make the decision can see through all their smoke and mirrors and uncover their true motives for trying to block access to other outdoor recreation: GREED.

JasmineM 2 years, 11 months ago

Wolverines. Seriously. If you havent seen one, then its probably because they are extremely rare and sensitive to human disturbance. You'll mostly find them in high alpine environments with deep snowpack. Unless you are well-traveled backcountry skier, your chances of seeing one are slim. There is currently a study of wolverines going on in the North Cascades that show their range extending south to the Pass. Of all the high peaks and high country along Highway 2, Stevens Pass is unique in that it provides a critical wildlife corridor for wolverines moving between the North Cascades and the central and southern Cascades. Wolverines travel long distances and move through high elevation areas, like Stevens Pass, that get snow earlier and hold it later in the year. As the climate changes, the habitat at Stevens Pass will only become increasingly crucial to wolverine survival and recovery.

So as a mountain biker, you have a choice. You can decide, "Wow, I didn't realize that our park could have bigger impacts on imperiled wildlife than we realized, maybe we should work to address that impact" OR "Who cares about wildlife and habitat? My own personal recreational needs are way more important than the survival of wildlife and wild areas in Washington State." Sounds like most of you have opted for the latter without any real information to back your opinions. That is truly sad.

dschul 2 years, 11 months ago

       As the climate changes, the habitat at Stevens Pass will start to get snow later and hold it for a shorter period of time. A study shows that their range extends south to the pass? Really? The range of a male wolverine can be 240 sq. mi., while the range of a female is up to 50-100 sq. mi. As if all of the activity in the winter up there isn't disturbing enough, do you really think that bike trails cut on the mountain that wind through EXISTING SKI RUNS are going to be all that disturbing? And it is not as if cars don't already continually drive through the pass on Highway 2 year round.

  I would argue that the operation of this bike park would have greater overall utility to wolverines and other wildlife in area for the simple fact that it will bring in much more money to the Forest Service. Maybe the Sierra Club hasn't thought that far though...

  I am an avid outdoors men as well, I enjoy hiking, back packing, mountain biking, and snowboarding. But, I will not support the Sierra Club until they give up their vendetta against mountain bikes.

TheCatCameBack 2 years, 11 months ago

If the science wasn't there, there would be no basis for an appeal, but honestly, I don't get the big deal...

From everything I have seen, the conservation groups are simply asking for a real, full environmental analysis to be done on the whole Stevens Pass plans--not just piecemeal projects. What is Stevens Pass so scared of? Why not just do the analysis, make plans to mitigate any impacts on vital wildlife habitat, and move on? These groups were all involved in the Snoqualmie Pass expansions, and that all worked out fine.

This is the nature of making money on public lands; if Stevens Pass wants to work there, they are beholden to make sure ALL the resources there are protected and considered, including wildlife habitat.

DevinE 2 years, 11 months ago

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mts4allofus 2 years, 11 months ago

Having lived at the Summit of Stevens Pass year round for several years, and skiing/hiking year round in the ranges surrounding the resort, I have seen many forms of wildlife. I can without a doubt state that I have NEVER seen a wolverine anywhere in the area.

In fact, most of my observations show that the wildlife migrating through the area actually come across Highway 2 either lower down near Tunnel Creek, or near the Yodelin area.

Really - I think the Sierra Club should build a nice tunnel under Highway 2 for the mythical Stevens Pass wolverines to cross, since the Highway itself, besides being one of the most deadly for humans in the State, is certainly the cause of more wildlife deaths and migratory concerns than letting people ride non-motorized vehicles on existing rights of way (ski runs).

Wake up people - and look in the ditches as you drive Highway 2 once in a while to see if you can find your Wolverines!

MitchFriedman 2 years, 11 months ago

Wolverine are rare, but they seem to be making a recovery in the North Cascades. I also had never seen one or knew anybody who had seen on in the Cascades until July, 2008, when I saw one on Mt. Baker. In case your wondering, it was nowhere near the high traffic of the ski area.

The Stevens Pass plan would change it from one season to four season use, bringing thousands of bikers (and their cars) when they would otherwise be there. And it calls for a major expansion of the area's footprint (new runs).

There is a way do make this work, but not when the process and product reflect the attitude of some of the comments here: wildlife, who cares?

Cambium 2 years, 11 months ago

It is a major project that is going to be permanent. I think that a project of this magnitude warranted an EIS instead of just an environmental assessment. The USFS should have done their field work and had it rock solid before putting an OK on such a project.

If the USFS would have put forth more time and effort to begin with the trails would have been built sooner. But woefully understaffed and ill-funded is the USFS along with every other agency which manages public lands. No wonder they tried to go the quicker and easier route- because they have no staff and no money. And now with the appeals they will have even less resources to spend actually doing science. Great.

JeremyS 2 years, 11 months ago

If the environmentalists' concerns about wolverines are valid, It's clear that we ought to shut down skiing at stevens; the buildings bulldozed, the ski runs and parking lots reforested. surely those thousands of reckless skiers have already caved in a wolverine den or two killing the helpless creatures. How about automobile traffic on highway 2? huge machines hurtling by at speed must be incredibly frightening to the animals and drive them from the area if not murder them in cold blood as they try to cross the highway to feed their young. If an activity such as riding a bicycle down trails will drive the wolverines out, then obviously a longstanding, major skiing facility and busy highway will have caused significant damage to the wolverine habitat over their lifetimes and should be removed from the landscape asap.

JasmineM 2 years, 11 months ago

@Flamebike: There is scientific documentation of wolverines living in the North Cascades, and a few have been documented as far south as Mt Adams. Scientists have collared them and are tracking their movements: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080117/NEWS01/582190873

Scientists also suggest that if they are to move between the North and South Cascades, Stevens Pass plays an important role. You can see the analysis here, esp. p 3: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/pnw_rp549/pnw_rp549d.pdf

The Forest Service's own analysis shows that they will be expanding the ski area into high quality dispersal habitat for wolverine: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/projects/stevens-pass-mdp/FinalStevensPassEA_DEC09_Chapter3.pdf

JasmineM 2 years, 11 months ago

@David123: at issue here is not necessarily the bike park alone. If Steven's Pass was just proposing to build a bike park we'd be looking at the issue differently. Problem is that the bike park is part of a much larger expansion plan of the ski resort which includes new lifts, clearcuts, increased traffic, more year round use, etc, whose impacts has not been evaluated as a whole. And that's just one side of the issue. There is a whole other cultural side to the issue that the Tulalip Tribes have serious concerns over - you may want to learn more about their issues as well.

SpandexMafia 2 years, 11 months ago

What - no room for a casino?

wafreeskier 2 years, 11 months ago

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SpandexMafia 2 years, 11 months ago

Yeah - I would like to see Jasmine focus her efforts the impact of acres & acres of western Washington indian tribe casino parking lots to sensitive salmon creeks - thats my "serious concern". How about it Jasmine?

cbourdrez 2 years, 11 months ago

I am a mountian biker and hiker and I love the outdoors. In the past I have given contributions to Sierra Club, which now makes me sick to my stomach. I just called and told them to take me off there mailing list. Yikes, mistakes have been made. I will never give them a dime again. This is total BS as the place is already a ski resort. Why can't these Eco Groups realize that this is a great sustainable way to expand recreation for the Puget Sound area and consolidate it to one area which already has parking areas, restaurants, and lifts built. They should fight the logging and urban sprawl, not building trails down ski runs that are already formed and logged. Stupid waste of everyones time. I guess we'll keep driving (an extra 3 hours and tanks of gas) to Whistler bike park and give the Canadians our money, smart real smart.

knolan59 2 years, 11 months ago

SERIOUSLY! Wolverines. The recreation area already exists and the reality is if there were more mountain bike parks the biking would be more contained and more innocuous to wildlife. All these pedantic ENVRO groups are foolish in that all the mountain bikers I know are like (cbourdrez) we give money to these groups like the Sierra Club, Conservation Northwest and support their efforts. For me that stops. And what the Hell is the Tulalip Tribe complaining about? They do what they wan,t when they want. A very sad day!

ledzeppelin 2 years, 11 months ago

Wolverine Wolverine

Don't take this bike park, it is our dream.

More trips to Whistler, thanks to the Greens.

You'd be just fine, that's how it seeeeeeeems.

girlfawkes 2 years, 11 months ago

Oh good lord... . Chairlift accessed bike park? Give me a break. We have world class trails just miles from Wenatchee. What is this crap? . If you have to drive to Whistler to get your freak on with your bike and require a chairlift to feel truly awesome you're probably a bit obsessed. If you think the world owes you more recreation access than you already have you're very selfish. The Cascades are chock full of great trails that are already underutilized. Go there, have a great time and quit complaining. . Recreation is not necessary nor is it owed to you. Even considering this statement, both private entities and government bend over backward to provide it. Be happy with it. . And yes, the wolverines are making a slow comeback. They are a sensitive species that is being considered for inclusion in the federally threatened or endangered list. They range over many, many miles of alpine wilderness yearly, and breed very slowly. The comments from some that you've "never seen one" make me laugh. Seriously, come off of it. Maybe the fact that you've never seen one is indicative of how reclusive and rare this animal currently is in the four states in the lower 48 that it currently exists. There are likely less than 1,000 animals in the four state area. Let them have this habitat in the warm months, or at least provide a comprehensive assessment of how valuable the corridor really is in these months.