Big Week for Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, & Sierra Watch
It’s a great week to Keep Squaw True.
Thursday we’ll be in court, pursuing our legal challenge to Placer County’s 2016 approvals of KSL’s reckless development.
In a day of oral arguments, we’ll point out that ‘Shelter in Place’ is not a viable tactic for dealing with catastrophic wildfire.
That adding thousands of cars to Tahoe’s crowded roadways would bring traffic to a frustrating halt.
And that KSL shouldn’t get a free pass to pollute the waters of Lake Tahoe.
Meanwhile on that same day, in Kings Beach, the Placer County Planning Commission will take public input on the draft environmental review of the proposed Squaw to Alpine gondola.
It’s a great opportunity to learn more about the project – and make your voice heard:
Placer County Planning Commission
Thursday, May 24 at 10:00 a.m.
8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA 96134
County officials will take public comment on KSL and Alterra Mountain Company’s proposal to construct an aerial gondola of 37 towers traversing 2.5 miles of the Pacific Crest of the Sierra Nevada from Squaw to Alpine.
It’s important to remember that, although the U.S. Forest Service is also considering alternative alignments, KSL is still applying for permission to run the gondola through land designated by Congress for national wilderness protection.
Pictured: Visual Simulation of towers in designated wilderness
And the integrity of Granite Chief Wilderness is not the only issue at stake.
Even the project’s most “environmentally superior” route would have 33 adverse environmental impacts on important Tahoe values; including increased traffic, loss of wildlife habitat, and destruction of the kind of outdoor mountain experiences the Forest Service calls opportunities for “solitude or primitive unconfined recreation.”
Sierra Watch is engaging experts in planning, wildlife, and traffic to better understand the proposal and what it would mean to Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, and our Tahoe Sierra.
We’ll be submitting thorough and robust comments to the Forest Service. And, if you care about this issue, you should send them a letter, too. Comments are due June 11, 2018.
You can learn more about the proposed Squaw to Alpine gondola here:
https://www.squawalpinegondola-eis.com/
You can mail or email comments to:
U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest, Truckee Ranger District
c/o NEPA Contractor
P.O. Box 2729
Frisco, CO 80443
Email: Comments@squawalpinegondola-eis.com
And there is an online comment form for the Squaw to Alpine gondola here:
https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public//CommentInput?Project=48417
