A lot more than skiing goes on at Lutsen Ski Hill, as seen here. The owners are attempting to double the size of the ski area on forest service land. If successful, the build out will take about 10 years. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
The U.S. Forest Service announced it was anticipating updating the Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Lutsen Mountains Ski Area Expansion Project to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.
As part of their master plan, and to ensure the stability of the ski area, Lutsen Mountains Corporation (LMC) is attempting to grow its ski area from 180 to 320 skiable acres.
To do that, LMC has applied to the Superior National Forest (SNF) for a special use permit (SUP) under the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986. A special use permit would authorize LMC to construct, operate, and maintain an expansion of 495 acres of National Forest Service lands as an addition to the privately owned land that makes up the Lutsen Mountains ski hill.
On March 20, 2018, Charles Skinner (co-president and ski hill owner with Tom Rider), told the county board, “This process started four years ago. We have submitted a master plan to the forest service and put in an application to lease the land.”
Along with that process, there will be an environmental review (EIS) and public input, Skinner said.
The notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed Lutsen Ski Hill expansion project was published on April 15, 2020 in the Federal Register, earlier than anticipated and therefore the project scoping documents are not currently available.
Should the LMC request meet approval—and there are a lot of hoops to jump through before that happens— LMC has proposed developing 324 acres of new ski terrain, including approximately 175 acres of developed ski trails and 149 acres of gladed terrain.
The proposal also includes adding seven new chairlifts and one surface unit; building two new base facilities, maintenance facilities, and a mountain top chalet; expansion of ski patrol operations, including a ski patrol duty station located in a similar location with the mountain-top chalet; installation of snowmaking equipment that would cover all 175 acres of developed ski trails and construction of two snowmaking reservoirs with a combined capacity of 13 million gallons.
Lutsen Mountains also plans on adding 1,260 parking spaces, build five (5) miles of permanent access roads, and construct 0.9 miles of temporary roads.
Before any of this can happen, LCM must obtain a U.S. Forest Service special use permit (SUP). Additional permits must also be secured from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource Water Appropriations, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Wastewater, and other permits as identified through scoping and the environmental impact statement (EIS) analysis process.
During the scoping process, which guides the development and environmental impact statement, the Forest Service will solicit comments from federal, state and local agencies and other individual organizations that may be affected or interested in the proposed project. Tribal consultation is ongoing and will continue.
At some point, one public open house meeting will be held with representatives of the Superior National Forest and Lutsen Mountains on hand to answer questions and provide additional information on the project.
The purpose of, and need for, the Forest Service’s action is to respond to the proposal from Lutsen Mountains Corporation to implement select projects at the Lutsen Mountain Resort on the Superior National Forest.
The 2004 Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) identifies forest-wide desired conditions that guide management direction across the Superior National Forest.
The proposed action could help achieve D-REC-3 status, which states, “The [Superior National Forest] provides developed sites, facilities, trails, water access sites, and other recreation opportunities within health and safety, resource protection, cost, and maintenance requirements.”
The Forest Supervisor will use the EIS to help decide: (1) Whether to issue a special use permit (SUP) under the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986; (2) the selection of a preferred alternative; (3) any need to amend the Forest Plan; and (4) what specific terms and conditions should apply if a SUP is issued.
Additional detail on the existing conditions driving the project Purpose and Need, as well as the Objectives, can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=52440.
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