Project: Heavenly Mountain Resort, Lake Tahoe, California
- Heavenly offers roughly 4,800 skiable acres of terrain across its 7,200-acre SUP area and adjacent private lands, making it the largest ski area in California
- Heavenly’s SUP area is known to have been used during prehistoric times by hunting-based societies, through the 19th century Comstock Era mining boom and timber extraction
Project Description
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SE Group assisted the USDA Forest Service – Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit with the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Heavenly Mountain Resort’s 2010 Capital Projects proposal. From a geographical and jurisdictional perspective, Heavenly is unique in the ski industry. It is located on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, and its Special Use Permit (SUP) area straddles two states (NV and CA) and three counties. In addition, portions of its SUP area that are within the Lake Tahoe Basin are subject to Tahoe Regional Planning Agency authority.
SE Group worked collaboratively with Heavenly and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to identity a list of projects that responded to identified opportunities and constraints at the resort, while acknowledging and avoiding known sensitive resources. The 2010 Capital Projects proposal included: a new on-mountain day lodge at the top of the gondola; additional snowmaking (including a low impact grading technique that facilitates more efficient snowmaking); and improvements to the Galaxy lift/trail pod. While the project was strategically designed to minimize resource impacts to the greatest extent possible, issues did emerge, primarily pertaining to in-basin watershed impacts, soils, known cultural resources associated with the Comstock Era mining boom, and visual resources. In May 2010 the Forest Supervisor for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit approved the entire package of projects. This decision was appealed, and upheld by the Appeal Deciding Officer—the Deputy Regional Forester for Region 5.
