A long-debated expansion at
Colorado’s Vail ski resort gained a go-ahead from the Forest
Service, but some locals aren’t so sure they need more ski runs –
or the trophy homes they say are sure to follow. Critics charge
Vail Associates is using the ski area expansion to make way for
profitable base area development.
“This has
nothing to do with skiing. This is about increasing the value of
nearby real estate so they can sell it,” said Jeff Berman of
Ancient Forest Rescue.
In a recent public hearing
in Eagle County, many locals told county commissioners they want
the Two Elks roadless area, valued as elk and lynx habitat, left
alone.
“I love Vail, I truly feel it’s the best
ski area in the world,” longtime skier Annie Egan told
commissioners, reports The Denver Post. “But enough is enough. It’s
time for Vail Associates to leave some wide-open spaces for
wildlife.”
The expansion would put 885 acres of
ski runs next door to land ripe for development. Some worry that
parcel will become another Bachelor Gulch, where the company sold
101 homesites for an average of $750,000 each. Vail Associates
doesn’t dispute that conclusion; its annual report notes that
improving ski facilities boosts the value of its real estate
holdings.
County commissioners will announce the
fate of the project, which has generated 500 mostly anti-expansion
letters, on April 20.
* Dustin
Solberg
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Locals protest Vail expansion.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
