Waterville Valley Ski Resort Green Peak Expansion Project Town of Waterville Valley Grafton County, NH

Scoping Report

Prepared by the Eastern Region Winter Sports Team

December, 2011

For Information Contact: Sarah LaPlante White Mountain National Forest 71 White Mountain Drive Campton, NH 03223 Phone: 603-536-6237 Fax: 603-536-3685; Attn: Sarah LaPlante [email protected] www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain

WATERVILLE VALLEY GREEN PEAK EXPANSION PROJECT SCOPING REPORT

Scoping Report and Notice of Intent for Waterville Valley Ski Resort Green Peak Expansion Project

DRAFT

Introduction

The White Mountain National Forest (Forest) is proposing to authorize Waterville Valley Ski Resort, LLC (Waterville Valley) to implement a planned ski terrain expansion project on the Green Peak area, located on National Forest System (NFS) lands. The project as proposed would include the construction of one detachable, four-person chairlift and eight new trails and one glade in the Green Peak area. The Waterville Valley Black and Blue Trail Smashers (BBTS) Competition building would be removed to accommodate the lower terminal for the new lift. Services associated with the BBTS Competition building would be relocated to a new facility located elsewhere in the base area. The proposed action would occur entirely on lands designated in the Forest Plan as Management Area (MA) 7.1 Alpine Ski Areas.

Background

Waterville Valley is located in central New Hampshire, approximately fifteen miles northeast of Plymouth, Grafton County, New Hampshire, and twenty miles south of Franconia Notch and the Presidential Range (Figure 1). Waterville Valley is a four-season resort operated on public lands in the Pemigewasset Ranger District at the southern end of the White Mountain National Forest (Forest). Owned by Waterville Valley Holdings, LLC, Waterville Valley operates under an SUP issued by the Forest and administered by the Eastern Region Winter Sports Team. The SUP authorizes use of 3,010 acres of NFS lands for alpine skiing areas at Mt. Tecumseh (816 acres) and Snow’s Mountain (40 acres) and nordic and mountain bike terrain surrounding the Town of Waterville Valley (2,154 acres). Waterville Valley has operated under a SUP since the 1960s; the current SUP was issued in 2010 and expires on October 8, 2050.

The SUP authorizes the permit holder to provide four-season, developed recreation opportunities to the public on NFS lands. While the Forest Service oversees the management of the lands and resources associated with the ski area, the improvements, including lifts, lodges, snowmaking systems, etc., are owned and operated by the permit holder. The cost of construction (and removal, when necessary) of these facilities is the responsibility of the permit holder as are all operating expenses, environmental analyses and where needed, environmental protection measures. In addition, the permit holder pays user fees to the U.S. Government; these fees are based on their business receipts. This proposal and its analysis are also funded by the permit holder, irrespective of the outcome of the Responsible Official's decision.

There are approximately 259 skiable acres at the resort that encompass the following features: 52 maintained trails, five gladed areas, and terrain features that include six Mogul fields, a 400-foot

1 WATERVILLE VALLEY GREEN PEAK EXPANSION PROJECT SCOPING REPORT competition superpipe, four different terrain parks and a learner’s area (WVSR 2011). With the exception of the deficiencies discussed below, the trail and terrain network accommodates a range of ability levels from beginner to expert for both skiers and riders.

Purpose and Need

The proposed expansion would increase beginner and intermediate terrain, and offer a more gradual continuum of terrain challenges at the resort. Having not undertaken any appreciable trail expansion in 25 years, nor implemented any of the expansion projects proposed in the 1999 Master Development Plan (MDP), the ski area has proposed this project to provide an improved visitor experience. Besides providing additional trails and glade skiing, this project would also expand the opportunities and improve safety for novice and beginner skiers. Currently, novice and beginner skiers and riders who have mastered the lower intermediate Valley Run area of the resort but do not have sufficient skills to use more advanced trails have limited access to the resort’s upper elevation trail system. The additional trails proposed would provide a skill-level- appropriate “summit” experience to novice and beginner skiers and boarders. In addition, novice and beginner skiers would be more broadly disbursed over more of the mountain instead of being concentrated on the few trail options currently available to skiers of lower technical abilities. Direct access to the Green Peak expansion area would be provided by the proposed Green Peak detachable quad ski lift, as identified in the 1999 MDP but with modified bottom terminal location as described in the Proposed Action.

This project is identified in the Waterville Valley Resort Master Development Plan (MDP) which was accepted by the Forest Service in 1999 (MDP 1999). One of the specific goals of this Plan is to include improvements that enhance the guest experience at Waterville Valley via further development within the SUP boundary.

Proposed Action

Introduction

Green Peak, with an elevation of approximately 2,860 feet, is located southeast of Mt. Tecumseh (elevation ~3,840 feet) in the southeast quadrant of the Waterville’s SUP (Figure 2). The proposed project would create a network of eight new trails that would connect to and generally parallel the existing trail network along Stillness and Upper Valley Run, eventually merging and then emerging in the Lower Valley Run base area. The proposed terrain would be serviced by a new detachable quad. The Black and Blue Trail Smashers (BBTS) Competition building (Old Valley Run lift building) would be removed to accommodate the lower terminal of the new lift (Figure 2). Services provided by the BBTS Competition building would be relocated to a new building to be constructed at the lower end of the tree island that separates Lower Periphery and The Pasture (Figure 2). The new structure would be two stories, approximately 40’ X 60’ at the base, thus containing about 4,800 sq. ft. Approximately 2,400 sq. ft. of tree clearing would be required to construct this building. The main BBTS building and its respective functions would remain in place. Additional skier services would continue to be provided by the existing base area facilities.

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Lift

The detachable quad chair lift would start adjacent to the Waterville Valley Black and Blue Trail Smashers (BBTS) competition building (the old Valley Run lift building) and continue about 4,000 feet to the top of Green Peak, to the south of the Valley Run trail system (Figure 2). The capacity would be 2,800 skiers and riders per hour. Vertical rise would be approximately 1,000 feet.

The proposed top chairlift terminal would be in approximately the same location as indicated in the MDP, but the bottom chairlift terminal would deviate slightly from this plan, shifting slightly to the north to be more accessible from Waterville Valley’s existing trail and lift system (Figure 2). Site specific flagging of the lift location was conducted in early fall of 2011.

Trails

The proposed Green Peak trail network would be similar to that shown in the MDP, but with the elimination of some trails leading away from the current base area (Figure 2). Site specific flagging of the trail system was conducted in early fall of 2011. Trail boundaries are approximate – final locations would be determined by specific ground conditions discovered during final layout prior to construction.

In general, trails and the lift line would be cut, stumped, graded and stabilized and be in compliance with all Forest Plan standards and guidelines. Tops, small trees and brush from the trails and the glade would be cut and chipped or burned on site and the resulting chips and/or ashes worked back into the soil during trail construction. No other ground disturbance would occur in the glade. There are several large boulder areas that would be left if possible, with trails directed around these locations. Clearing for the Green Peak expansion would approximate 41.8 acres for new trails and the lift and 2.6 acres for widened, existing trails that are adjacent to the proposed expansion. The gladed area would add approximately 12 acres.

Snowmaking

The new trails in this proposed action would be covered by machine-made snow to the depth similar to other existing trails at Waterville Valley. Waterville Valley proposes to use the existing water supply sources (Mad River, Corcoran’s Pond) to supply the expansion on Green Peak. Although additional water would be withdrawn when available from the existing snowmaking supply sources (Mad River and Corcoran’s Pond) to service the expansion areas, withdrawals are regulated to meet minimum flow requirements. Waterville Valley operates under minimum flow requirement of 0.5 cubic feet per second per square mile of watershed. This minimum flow was established by the Forest in consultation with U.S; Fish and Wildlife Service in the late 1980s when Waterville Valley established the current Mad River water withdrawal location. No withdrawal would occur if stream flow was less than the required minimum. The proposed action would require running spur snowmaking air and water lines, probably off existing snowmaking lines on Valley Run. A small, doghouse-sized valve house

3 WATERVILLE VALLEY GREEN PEAK EXPANSION PROJECT SCOPING REPORT would be needed to separate the lines and house a booster pump, if needed. Engineering has not yet been completed for this system expansion, so the exact location of the valve house is not known. However, its location would be at a site that provides the greatest energy efficiency and one that would not require additional tree clearing. Upgrades to the base air compressor and water pumping systems are not anticipated. Energy efficient snowmaking guns would be used.

Forest Plan Consistency

As noted in the White Mountain National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan; USDA 2005) goals and objectives, a goal for the Forest is to “maintain and provide quality alpine skiing and related opportunities on the Forest through partnerships with the private sector.” Objectives to meet this goal include allowing Waterville Valley to continue to be operated by the private sector under SUP authority, consistent with permit language and the Forest Plan (Forest Plan, p. 1-4).

The proposed action is located entirely within Management Area (MA): 7.1 Alpine Ski Areas (USDA 2005). The major emphasis of MA 7.1 is to provide alpine winter sports and year-round recreational opportunities at alpine ski areas on the Forest managed by the private sector under the Special Use Permit authority. The Desired Condition of MA 7.1 is:

“Large numbers of users may be present, sights and sounds of human activity will be readily evident, and the interaction between users will be moderate to high. Facilities are designed for use by a large number of people. Facilities including parking lots, structures, and utilities will be evident, and are designed to be compatible with the values that make the area attractive to the users. Management and operating practices are aimed at enhancing permitted recreation activities at the area while protecting the natural resources and visual characteristics.”

The Scenic Integrity Objective (SIO) of MA 7.1 is “low” (Forest Plan, p. 2-27).

This proposed project would be designed to be consistent with all applicable Forest-wide and MA 7.1 goals, objectives, standards and guidelines, as outlined in the Forest Plan.

Environmental Analysis and Decision to be made

An environmental assessment (EA) will evaluate site-specific issues, consider feasible alternatives and analyze effects of the proposed action and alternatives on resources. The EA will consider comments made by interested parties as well as those provided by a Forest Service interdisciplinary team. The analysis and supporting documentation will be the basis for determining whether additional analysis in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is needed prior to making a decision. Following completion of the environmental analysis, the Responsible Official will decide whether to implement the proposed activities described above, an alternative design, or not implement any project at this time.

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This scoping effort and the environmental analysis may identify additional opportunities consistent with Forest Plan direction that need to be explored. Likewise, the finding may be that there are conditions or as yet unforeseen issues that would limit the proposal. Other decisions to be made include the following:

If an action alternative is selected for implementation, what mitigation measures and monitoring will be required? Is the information provided in the analysis sufficient to implement the proposed activities? Will a Forest Plan amendment be required to accommodate this project? Does the proposed project have a significant impact that would trigger a need to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement?

It is anticipated that a decision will be made in the fall of 2012. If the decision is to allow the project, implementation would commence shortly thereafter and continue through at least 2013. Your comments and suggestions can help us make the best decision.

Responsible Official

The Responsible Official for this decision will be Thomas G. Wagner, Forest Supervisor, White Mountain National Forest.

Citations

MDP 1999 Waterville Valley Resort Master Development Plan. Sno Engineering. October 1999. USDA 2005 White Mountain National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service; Eastern Region, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. September 2005. WVSR 2011 Waterville Valley Ski Resort webpage: www.waterville.com. Accessed August 2, 2011.

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