STEVENS PASS — Ski resort officials want to break ground on the state’s only lift-access mountain bike park after the snow melts, but the U.S. Forest Service could tap the brakes on that plan.
It needs to hear from the public on an environmental assessment before giving the green light to Stevens Pass, a private company that operates on public land.
While that input could slow things down, officials at the pass are optimistic construction will begin this spring.
“I wouldn’t be doing a lot of the work we’re doing now if I thought there was no chance,” Stevens Pass director of operations Joel Martinez said.
Discussions for a bike park at Stevens Pass began about five years ago, Martinez said.
The pass worked with Gravity Logic to create a trail system. The design group won praise for its work on the Whistler Mountain Bike Park in British Columbia.
The first round of plans call for five trails covering seven miles of terrain, all located on existing ski runs in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The project will cost about $925,000.
Mountain bikers will use ski lifts to get to the top of the trails. Bicycles will use one seat. Riders will sit on another.
Before that happens, the project needs to clear an environmental assessment conducted by the Forest Service. That assessment began its 30-day public comment period on Dec. 17.
Projects at the pass have faced criticism from environmental groups before. For instance, the Sierra Club faulted a broader plan in 2008 that called for the bike park and new ski trails.
The Forest Service met with various stakeholders as it conducted its review for the bike park.
Sean Wetterberg, Forest Service team leader on the plan, said the assessment addresses concerns that came out of those meetings.
“The general conclusion is that the projects don’t have significant environmental consequences,” Wetterberg said.
Individuals get to see if they agree. The public input process lets them check the Forest Service’s homework, and bring to light anything that has been overlooked.
Some already have found fault. Wetterberg received a letter from Conservation Northwest earlier this week questioning the bike park’s effect on wildlife habitat. The Forest Service will have to make sure that is not an issue.
Others see reason for Stevens Pass officials to be optimistic, however.
Fran Troje, a Bellevue resident who belongs to the Mountaineers in Seattle, reviewed the assessment, agreeing with the most of the findings.
“A full-time, year-round operation is the way to go,” she said. “Other ski areas throughout the nation are also going toward this.”
If construction begins this spring, Stevens Pass could open an intermediate trail and an expert trail by July. Three other trails, including one for beginners, would follow.
In the long term, the pass might add 20 or more other mountain bike trails.
That could turn Stevens Pass into a destination spot for mountain bikers such as Jon Kennedy, the acting executive director of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance in Seattle.
“The closest thing we have to any lift-assisted bike park is Whistler, and that’s a pretty substantial drive,” he said. “I think Stevens Pass is primed for it.”
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com.
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