Comments Due TODAY Monday May 22nd
Winter Wildlands Associatioin has created a "Take Action" page on their website for this project. Please visit it for a TON of great information and tools for writing comments. Also, please support them for taking an interest in helping our little valley and so many others!
Community Meeting
ANOTHER FAIL FROM CARSON NATIONAL FOREST AND TSVI
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Read more about the meeting at:
La Jicarita and Taos News
Listen to the whole meeting at Cultural Energy
Tuesday May 9th - 5:30-7:30pm
Sagebrush Inn, Taos
Forest Service adds a town meeting & extends the comment deadline again.
March 2023 UPDATE
Gondola and Other Improvements
Taos Ski Valley closed due to water leak
Article on the Taos News
WE GOT AN EXTENSION! STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO ON WRITING YOUR COMMENTS
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Forest Service News Release
Contact: Zach Behrens, Public Affairs Officer
(575) 758-6303
zachary.behrens@usda.gov
www.fs.usda.gov/carson
New Comment Period for Taos Ski Valley Draft Plan
TAOS, NM, March 29, 2023 — Based on feedback from the community, Questa
District Ranger Adam LaDell will initiate a second comment period for the draft
environmental assessment for resort projects proposed by Taos Ski Valley, Inc. The
comment period will be open until May 15, 2023.
“The team has been listening to the community and agrees that more time to
understand the proposal and make substantive comments will be extremely helpful,”
said LaDell. “To that end, we’ll also host another public meeting in the Taos area.”
Details for the second public meeting will be announced on a later date.
The current comment period ends April 9. The draft environmental assessment
examines authorizing the following projects:
• Build a base-to-base gondola.
• Replace lifts 2 and 8.
• Install a new booster station, water tank, and additional snowmaking pipe.
• Develop Nordic and snowshoe trails.
• Build a restaurant near the top of Lift 7.
• Replace and relocate the Whistlestop Café.
• Construct a lift 4 hiking trail.
• Create construction and staging areas.
The full list of proposed projects and their details can be read in the draft analysis and
supporting documents, which are available online and at the Supervisor’s Office in Taos
for public inspection.
Written comments must be made online, by fax (575-586-201), by mail (to: Forest
Supervisor James Duran c/o Winter Sports Coordinator Paul Schilke, P.O. Box 110
Questa, NM 8755) or in person at the Questa Ranger Station, 184 State Hwy 38, Questa,
NM 87556. Due to a staffing shortage, please call 575-586-0520 to schedule an in-
person submission.
April 2022 Update
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On April 7th, the Scoping Notice for TSV's new Master Development Plan (MDP) was released. The proposal was accepted by Carson National Forest (CNF) in October and the scoping period has begun. In short, this means it is time to start writing letters again. The scoping period is the first step in the NEPA process. The comments received during this time are used to determine the scope of issues that should be addressed in either:
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Environmental Assessment (EA), a brief analysis used to determine the significance of impacts resulting from a federal action, or
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Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), a detailed and thorough analysis used for those actions that are expected to result in significant impacts.
It is up to you to tell the agencies in your comments, what you want included—and why. Any topics left out of the scope of review (ie. your letters) will NOT be studied and will NOT be part of the EIS/EA. It is likely that CNF and TSV will push for only conducting an EA, but It is imperative that you ask that an EIS be conducted for this project in your comments. When the agency is assessing the potential Environmental AND Social impacts, they must address: Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative Impacts. I will be drafting a letter this week and getting some more insight from colleagues here, as we are working on a similar situation. I hope to post it on the website or send out another email by the end of next week.
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Some Tips on Comment Writing:
• Consider the agency’s purpose and need, and focus on the specifics.
• Provide support for your statements with facts and references.
• Consider whether your comments are solution-oriented. Comments are not counted as votes and statements of opinion for/against a proposed action are not sufficient.
• Remember to include potential socioeconomics impacts as well as environmental and ecological.
Resource for successful NEPA comment letter writing
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Friends of the Rio Hondo has some good links as well. While there is a form letter, it is ALWAYS better to write your own. If the FS receives a lot of the same letter, they do not hold as much sway. It is an option to be "anonymous" but that also does not carry as much weight as signing your name.
Find the full Scoping letter and sized map on CNF's Project Page.