DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - The U.S. Forest Service released the first draft plans Friday for a proposed expansion of Purgatory Resort in southwest Colorado.
The ski resort about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Durango drafted a plan in 2008 that looked at several areas of expansion, and the currently proposed project would affect an area east of the Hermosa Park Express lift. The ski resort hopes to expand its beginner to intermediate terrain, but some are concerned about impacts to lynx habitat and water quality, The Durango Herald reported.
The proposal is up for public comment until April 12.
Last summer, the Forest Service started scoping and reviewing the proposed expansion, which also included a public comment period, and agency spokeswoman Lorena Williams says those comments were taken into account with the draft plan.
“(The scoping period) tries to accommodate all those good ideas and get public feedback from the beginning,” she said.
The proposed expansion would include a new 3,400-foot-long (1,036-meter-long), four-person chairlift that could take up to 2,400 skiers per hour into intermediate terrain in the Ice Creek area. Four new trails would be created, providing 45 acres (18 hectares) of skiable terrain, ending in the eastern end of Hermosa Park. About 23 acres (9 hectares) of trees and vegetation would be removed, with the plan calling for avoiding wetlands.
A small part of an existing snowmobile bypass trail at the junction of Hermosa Park Road also would be rerouted to a new trail with a safer grade.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.