Stevens Pass Proposes Mountain Bike Park (Washington)
US Forest Service – Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Contact: Renee Bodine
Office: 425-783-6015
Stevens Pass may build a new mountain bike park and replace an old water treatment system next year, and the public is being asked to comment on it. The Forest Service will make a decision about the proposed plan based on what the public says about the environmental assessment. “We want people to participate in this process,” said Sean Wetterberg, team lead for the plan. The public has 30 days from when the plan was published, Dec. 17, 2009, to comment.
The plan proposes a mountain bike park that includes seven miles of downhill-mountain biking trails just south of the Granite Peaks ski lodge. The pass will build trails between five and eight feet wide with natural berms and jumps, two miles of single-track trails and develop three areas to teach technical skills and safe riding techniques.
According to Wetterberg, Stevens Pass management saw the park as an opportunity to use the area in the summer and meet a growing demand for mountain biking. He said people from Puget Sound are driving to Whistler ski area in BC to ride bikes. The pass is proposing the new water treatment system so they can continue to have running water. “The current one is old and insufficient”, Wetterberg said.
An environmental assessment is a requirement of the National Environmental Protection Act, and stipulates that the public be given a chance to review and comment on any activity that might affect the environment on federal land. According to the Stevens Pass plan, the mountain bike park construction will occur in areas already in use by the ski area, the park will not allow off-trail riding, and building the new water plant will require removing a road and adding a new one.
The environmental assessment can be viewed at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/projects/stevens-pass-mdp/.
The public can use any of the following methods to comment.
Email: mbs_stevens_ski@fs.fed.us;
Mail: Forest Supervisor, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 3A, Everett, WA 98201;
Phone: 425-783-6000; and,
Fax: 425-783-0212.
For more information contact Sean Wetterberg at 425-783-6022 or by email at mbs_stevens_ski@fs.fed.us.
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