Mt. Crested Butte, CO – The office of U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell last week dealt what may be a fatal blow to Crested Butte’s plans to expand skiing and snowboarding at the Colorado resort to adjacent Snodgrass Mountain.

In 2009, Gunnison National Forest Supervisor Charlie Richmond determined that the Snodgrass Mountain expansion as proposed by Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) was not in the public’s interest for forest use, and denied CBMR’s plea to elevate the expansion proposal to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process with public involvement. Last May, Deputy Regional Forester James Peña upheld Richmond’s decision. Review officer Gloria Manning in Tidwell’s office last week affirmed both decisions and ended CBMR’s avenues of appeal.

“The Forest Service has decided it is appropriate for one Forest Service employee to decide the future of an entire community with no public process whatsoever,” CBMR owner Tim Mueller, who has indicated that his company has spent $2 million over four years crafting an expansion proposal for Forest Service approval, said in a prepared statement following Manning’s decision.

However, Manning also ordered Richmond to indicate to CBMR precisely what kind of expansion would be acceptable, and if no ski expansion is acceptable then Richmond should consider revising the forest management plan.

The proposed Snodgrass Mountain expansion would have increased the amount of intermediate and advanced ski and snowboard terrain at CBMR with 276 acres of skiing served by three lifts, a beginner carpet, and a connector Gondola from Crested Butte Mountain. Snodgrass Mountain is located adjacent to Crested Butte Mountain and is within the resort’s Special Use Permit.