Heliskiing permit extended for 10 years in central Wasatch

Regulations » Forest Services extends Powderbirds' operating plan

By Mike Gorrell

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 10/29/2009 07:20:33 AM MDT

Just as it has for the past five years, helicopter skiing will continue for another decade in the central Wasatch Mountains.

Last week the U.S. Forest Service approved a 10-year extension of Wasatch Powderbird Guides' permit to conduct heliskiing operations along the range from Utah through Davis counties, most prominently in the "Tri-Canyon Area" that includes Little Cottonwood, Big Cottonwood and Mill Creek canyons.

The new permit does not change the way Wasatch Powderbirds does business. The number of skier days will remain the same. Restrictions on when and where helicopters can fly are still intact. Measures are still in place to protect eagle nesting sites.

But in keeping with a federal effort to reduce paperwork -- and because Forest Service officials determined the findings of previous environmental studies remain valid -- the permit's length was doubled.

"We didn't see a great need to do a lot more tweaking," said Steve Scheid, a Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest snow ranger. "People generally understand the terms we started in the 1999 permit and modified in 2004. At some level they have been successful in reducing conflicts, although some don't agree with that."

No they don't -- and probably never will -- in the conflict between backcountry skiers who want to see an end to aerial transportation of skiers, and heliskiing supporters who point to the popularity of this upper-end segment of Utah's skiing continuum.

"Our forest plan talks about the conflict. It accepts the conflict, recognizing that we're in a small urban forest and, to some degree, people have to accept that," said Scheid.

Carl Fischer, executive director of the conservation group Save Our Canyons, expected the extension would sail through but is disappointed by its duration. Utah's rapid population growth will translate into so much more recreational use of the Wasatch that waiting 10 years to analyze the impacts is too long, he said.

"As the backcountry gets more crowded, it's going to get more and more dangerous, putting more pressures on the ecosystem up there," he said. "This is one of the country's most heavily used national forests. Doing more analysis more often is warranted."

But Rusty Dassing, Wasatch Powderbirds' president and a long-time guide, said past environmental studies mitigated the most important issues.

"Things the Forest Service implemented to resolve conflict are working, and it's a less-hostile environment out there," he said. "The longer permit allows us to focus more on taking people skiing ... People seem to enjoy it. Our business is up. We're starting our 38th year and it's a wonderful thing to be able to provide people."

Scheid said the Forest Service sees the permit conditions as a compromise that balances many competing uses of the forest. Added Forest Supervisor Brian Ferebee: "This decision will help maintain the diverse, high-quality recreational experience provided to the public."

mikeg@sltrib.com 
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