May 2002
Heli-Skiing Threatens Quiet Backcountry in Washington
Please comment by May 27
The Methow Valley is located in North Central Washington on the east slope of the North Cascades and has some of the finest backcountry skiing to be found. Highway 20 accesses much of the best terrain in this area. Closed in the winter, it is the main and best access for winter backcountry skiing.
The local heli-skiing outfit, North Cascades Heli-skiing (NCHS ), began operating in to the late 80's. Heli-skiers and backcountry skiers have been using the Highway 20 corridor during the winter months with few direct conflicts. This was largely due to the fact that backcountry skier numbers during the winter months were very low and the fact that the heli-skiers operated from mid January to mid March. Backcountry skiers and the number of user days they represent, have increased at least seven-fold over the past 5-6 years and are now starting to compete among themselves for terrain. Backcountry skiers have in the past, and still do, avoid a substantial amount of the premier terrain in order to avoid the noise generated by the helicopter and the tracked powder of the heli-skiers.
North Cascades Heli-skiing has a large permit area of over 300,000 acres but uses a relatively small amount of that, concentrated almost exclusively along the highway corridor. NCHS has flown an average of about 550 people per year using one helicopter, though their permit had no restrictions on the number of helicopters it could use. In October 2001 the Methow Valley Ranger District issued a 5-year permit for NCHS to increase their total user days to 1050 and to specifically allow the use of two helicopters, basically doubling the capacity of the permit.
A small group of local backcountry skiers, North Cascades Backcountry Skiers, and an environmental group, The Kettle Range Coalition, appealed that decision. The appeal stressed the fact that though backcountry skiers don't want to see heli-skiing eliminated, prudent planning urges that growth progress at a reasonable rate. The appeal was successful, but only on procedural errors and was returned to the ranger district for further work.
Among non-motorized backcountry skiers, it is felt that having two helicopters operating simultaneously in the highway corridor is unacceptable because it shatters the quiet experience people go into the winter backcountry to find. Backcountry skiers already put up with a considerable amount of noise intrusion and terrain avoidance from a single helicopter and a second helicopter would greatly exacerbate the situation.
In midwinter 2002 backcountry skiers met with the forest service and the heli-skiing operators to outline their concerns and offer suggestions for reaching an acceptable solution. The skiers maintained that a reasonable increase in user days was okay but that if there absolutely had to be two helicopters, one should operate outside the highway corridor so as to minimize the impact on backcountry skiers.
The revised Environmental Assessment (EA) came out in early May 2002. In the EA the Forest Service's preferred alternative, Alternative 2, does not address the backcountry skiers concerns in any substantive way. This alternative allows 1050 skier days and the option of using a second helicopter for exclusive use by a private group, filming projects, avalanche control work, and special projects.
The one measure included to appease non-motorized users is that NCHS would not increase their total skiers per day, that is, 20 clients per 5 guides, even if they were flying two machines. NCHS plans to accommodate additional skier days by extending their season on either end. Backcountry skiers do not think this is acceptable as one of the things that has made heli-skiing tolerable has been the fact that the outfitter has historically flown only from mid January to mid March. Additionally, two helicopters have the more of a noise impact regardless of the number of people in them. By extending the flying season and adding another helicopter there will be significant negative impacts to backcountry skiers.
Please Comment
Backcountry skiers would like to see comments directed at keeping the highway corridor restricted to one helicopter (or keeping the permit restricted to one helicopter), and requiring that additional use be dispersed throughout the substantial amount of permit area that is not accessible to muscle powered skiers due to its remoteness. Alternative 3 allows NCHS to operate in their historical manner, one helicopter, 550 skier days, but allows no growth. Modifying alternative 3 by allowing 750 skier days and a second helicopter outside the highway corridor would allow NCHS to grow and address some of the concerns of backcountry skiers. If you can only write a short note ask the Forest Service to select Alternative 3 instead of Alternative 2.
The Environmental Assessment is expected to be posted on the website http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/oka/. Comments can be e-mailed to Jennifer Zbyszewski jzbyszewski@fs.fed.us. Or comments can be mailed to Jennifer Zbyszewski, Methow Valley Ranger District, Winthrop Office, 24 W. Chewuch Rd., Winthrop, WA 99862 . Jennifer can be reached at 509-996-4021. Please include your name and mailing address on all correspondence. Comments are accepted until May 27, 2002.
Further questions can be directed to Matt Firth, 509.997.9707 or mattfirth@methow.com.