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<br />B. THE PROPOSAL <br /> <br />Westfork Investment, Ltd. proposes to develop that area co nly known as <br />Windy Pass as a winter sports site (see Map 1). sal involves <br />about 2,365 acres of lam which is uriler the administration f the Forest <br />Service and envisions developnent of approxiwately 3,000 ver ical feet of <br />skiing on about 900 acres of groaned trails. At projec conpletion, <br />O];Portunities for 11,750 skiers-at-one-time are anticipated. <br />l'dditionally, Westfork Investment, Ltd. proposes the realig ent of about <br />one mile of U.S. Highway 160 approxiwately 550 feet west 0 its current <br />location. The purpose am need for this action is to allo enough lam <br />space to accommodate the ski base area, which is located 0 private land <br />and to provide for skier safety. The propose:'! realignment wo Id have to be <br />approved by the State Highway Department am the Feral Highway <br />l'dministration. The environmental analysis of this action is documente:'! in <br />this Statement. <br /> <br />The need for downhill skiing in the RlCky Mountain Region i addresse:'! in <br />the ~ky Mountain Re;lional Guide (USlA, Forest Service, 198 ). The G!.ilil.e. <br />observes that downhill skiing in the Region (includes Colo ado, Wyoming, <br />South Dakota, Nebraska am Kansas) has increase:'! at a 10 ercent annual <br />rate for the past 10 years. This growth is expected to cont' ue at a seven <br />to ten percent rate for at least the next five years. The verage annual <br />conpounded growth rate for downhill Skiing on the San Juan tional Forest <br />between 1965 and 1980 was 16.5 percent. The Final Enviro ental Inpact <br />Statement on the Forest's states <br />"If...current trends continue and skier capacity is availab e, use on the <br />Forest will probably double by 1995 and more than double ag in by the year <br />2015." The Windy Pass site was identified in the Forest an as one of <br />those nee:'!ed to meet demand by the year 2015, but because it is a Priority <br />2 site it was estimated that developnent would occur about 20 O. <br /> <br />Westfork Investment, Ltd. proposes to develop the public 1 <br />developnent phase could represent three to five years 0 construction <br />activity and would be undertaken in response to maIket condi ions. <br /> <br />Phase I would accommodate 4,050 skiers-at-one-time. Inprov ents proposed <br />include: one double am four triple chair lifts, snowmaking on 88.2 acres, <br />an 8,000 square foot waintenance building, and a 39,000 s re foot base <br />building. Development in the back bowls would begin during the second or <br />third year of construction, but snowmaking would not be ins alled until at <br />least the third operating season. The base building, hich will be <br />designed to allow expansion, will provide all base area s ier facilities <br />and services including: <br /> <br /> <br />food service, storage and preparation <br />rest rooms <br />bar and lounge <br />ski rental and repair <br />ccmnercial retail space <br />administration am accounting <br /> <br />nursery <br />lockers and s i check <br />enployee spac <br />sk i pat rol <br />sk i school <br />ticketing <br /> <br />2 <br />