Village at Wolf Creek Poker update: USDA/USFS Folds, Red Holds.

With a tip of my hat to Jimbo Buickerood, at the San Juan Citizens Alliance, for alerting me to Jonathan Romeo's report in the May 10th Durango Herald on the latest Village at Wolf Creek development.  Namely, as the time limit ran out the USFS appears to have decided not to appeal Judge Matsch's decision of last May.  

Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture's Attorney Bill Leone defiantly announced that it doesn't matter to them what the USFS does.  They have gone ahead on their own and filed an appeal on Wednesday, arguing that "the environmental review was done according to the law and the land swap should be approved."

May 14th Update - USDA/USAF filed an "Unopposed Motion to Dismiss Appeal by Appellant United States"

But Judge Matsch sets this lawyerly 'misrepresentation' straight, when he clearly explained in his decision:

(Page 21 of 40)

ANALYSIS

The following aspects of the Record of Decision and the Biological Opinion that forms part of the basis for the ROD require relief under the APA. Defendants failed to consider important aspects of the issues before them, offered an explanation for their decision that runs counter to the evidence, failed to base their decision on consideration of the relevant factors, and based their decision on an analysis that is contrary to law.

(Page 39 of 40) 

The 900 public comments in the record show this heightened public awareness of the effects of human disruption of the native environment. The Rio Grande National Forest has two designated wilderness areas near the area involved in this action. It has unique features. 

Notably, responses to the public comments were prepared by the contractors who did the work. 

They would not be expected to find that work to be flawed.

What NEPA requires is that before taking any major action a federal agency must stop and take a careful look to determine the environmental impact of that decision, and listen to the public before taking action. The Forest Service failed to do that in the Record of Decision. The duty of this Court is to set it aside.

VII. ORDER

Where an agency action is found to be arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law,

(Page 40 of 40)

the Court must “hold [it] unlawful and set [it] aside.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2). The Court finds and concludes that Defendants‟ actions violated the APA in the respects specified in this decision.  

News Release: Forest Service Declines to Appeal Decision Nullifying Wolf Creek Land Exchange

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 2018

   

Forest Service Declines to Appeal Decision 

Nullifying Wolf Creek Land Exchange

Denver, CO – The United States Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to appeal an Order issued last May by Senior Judge Richard P. Matsch setting aside decisions approving a land exchange that would provide necessary road access for the long-sought Village at Wolf Creek development. The agency failed to file the required appeal brief by the May 9th deadline despite having originally notified the court last November of its intent to appeal.

FRIENDS OF WOLF CREEK - CALL TO ACTION !!!

Friends of Wolf Creek call to action.

Hello to all you Friends of Wolf Creek and Alberta Park, can I share some important thoughts?

After years and decades of mostly being relegated to the sidelines, while promoters made slick presentations and the powers-that-be danced their dance, our time has arrived.  On May 19th, Senior District Judge Richard P. Matsch handed down his decision in the Civil Action of 15-cv-01342 - It nullified the land swap agreement between the Rio Grande National Forest / USDA and Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture (Village at Wolf Creek speculators).  

The Rio Grande Forest Service and USDA received a stinging rebuke for its one-sided approach and is currently digesting the judge’s decision.  The Village at Wolf Creek speculators once again find themselves back at first base with nothing to show for more than three decades of lobbying, beyond lost court battles and endless expenses.  

Now is the time when a significant ground-swell of the Friends of Wolf Creek proactively lobbying Red McCombs, perhaps even his McCombs Foundation and certainly the VWC website and the Rio Grande National Forest Administration could well have a resounding impact on their thinking, or at least their decisions moving forward.  You never know until you make the effort.

I don’t mean anything belligerent, that would be totally counter-productive!  I’m talking about striving to win hearts and minds.  Help in a friendly effort to educate and convince the source of the Alberta Park Problem of the error of their ways.

(edited 5/29/2017)

What’s RGNF/USDA learned from Judge Matsch’s rebuke?

The VWC Saga continues.  I have been in contact with the Forest Service and want to share our correspondence in keeping with my goal of being an information kiosk for those interested in helping save Alberta Park from destructive development. 

For this post I’m going to start with my second email to the Rio Grande National Forest and backtrack from there:

Dear Communication Officers Blakeman, Lujan and Superintendent Dallas,

Communication Officer Lawrence Lujan responded to my questions with a one-liner:  "We are evaluating the court’s ruling and have no further comment at this time."  Nothing more.  

No hint of when the public can hope to hear RGNF/USDA’s response to the reprimand it received from Senior Federal Judge Matsch regarding its handling of the Village At Wolf Creek land swap negotiations and subsequent Environmental Impact Study and Draft.

This matters because from the public’s perspective the RGNF/USDA has maintained a decidedly pro-development stance during the past decades of negotiating with the wheeler dealer from the Texan lowlands.  In the process it has relegated environmental issues such as wetlands, fens concerns, wildlife corridor issues, health issues, fundamental feasibility issues with the project - to irrelevant externalities to be addressed by someone else, somewhere down the road after the irreparable damage is underway.

Judge Matsch made clear how inappropriate that outlook and actions were.  

Village At Wolf Creek developments - collection of news stories, May 2017

Jonathan Romeo | May 19, 2017 | DurangoHerald.com 

In a significant win for opponents of the Village at Wolf Creek, a federal judge on Friday invalidated the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to approve a land exchange that would have essentially served as a green light for a new resort atop the remote mountain pass.

“The order rules in the favor of community groups who have been fighting this ill-conceived project for decades,” said Travis Stills, an attorney with Energy & Conservation Law. “This is an important decision that respects the law, the environment and, importantly, agency staffers who tried to protect the national forest, despite the constant barrage of political pressure.” …

For nearly three decades, Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture has sought to build a resort with a capacity for an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people on the mountain pass at nearly 10,000 feet and more than 20 miles from the nearest town.

… Senior Judge Richard P. Matsch in no uncertain terms agreed with those concerns. …  

https://durangoherald.com/articles/159784

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VICTORY FOR THE CANADA LYNX AT WOLF CREEK!

San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council

http://www.slvec.org/news/28-front-page-articles/122-victory-for-the-canada-lynx

We did it!! Denver Judge Matsch ruled that federal agencies did not complete the work that must be done to review developmental impacts a large scale ski resort would have on the National Forest at Wolf Creek Pass, and that any future village proposal must include that review. Thank you to Rocky Mountain Wild, the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and Wilderness Workshop for making this possible! See the press release and court document at the links below.

05.19.17.Order-on-Merits.pdf

WolfCreekPR_May2017_final.final.pdf

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BIG WIN: Judge Nullifies Land Exchange Critical to 

Village at Wolf Creek (development)

By Erika Brown | May 19, 2017 | http://www.sanjuancitizens.org

Lands Protection, Wolf Creek

Judge Matsch’s decision validates nearly every complaint we had regarding the Forest Service’s botched attempt at an Environmental Impact Statement. They shirked their responsibility to assess the impacts of development and disregarded significant public input. Your input.

In a world where billionaires too often get their way, regardless of how they play the game, this is a reassuring testament to the power of democracy and everyday people to speak out and make a difference,.

See full Press Release below:

http://www.sanjuancitizens.org/lands-protection/big-win-judge-nullifies-land-exchange-critical-village-wolf-creek/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PRESS RELEASE: Federal Judge Sets Aside Forest Service Wolf Creek Land Exchange

Posted on May 19, 2017 by chris | http://rockymountainwild.org

Denver, CO — The Honorable Senior Judge Richard P. Matsch issued an Order today affirming that the Forest Service “failed to consider important aspects of the issues before them, offered an explanation for their decision that runs counter to the evidence, failed to base their decision on consideration of the relevant factors, and based their decision on an analysis that is contrary to law.” This Order concludes another chapter in this decades long saga to protect Wolf Creek pass from a large scale residential and commercial development that could accommodate 8,000 to 10,000 visitors.

http://rockymountainwild.org/press-release-federal-judge-sets-aside-forest-service-wolf-creek-land-exchange

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/19/judge-halts-wolf-creek-land-swap/

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MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2015

Pictures of Alberta Park the proposed site for the luxury Village at Wolf Creek

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2015/06/pictures-albertapark-wolfcreekpass.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

Concise History of the Village at Wolf Creek - San Juan Citizens Alliance

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2016/01/history-of-village-at-wolf-creek.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010

The Back Story ~ Village at Wolf Creek ~ presented by Ryan Bidwell 

(at the time Executive Director of Colorado Wild)

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2010/03/village-at-wolf-creek-back-story.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011

Alberta Park's Rio Grande Nat'l Forest Service....... 'open house hike' September 20, 2011

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2011/10/alberta-parks-natl-forest-service-open.html

(revised 2/26/12 to reflect final draft)

… Considering the great controversy surrounding this project the Rio Grande National Forest decided to sponsor a four hour field trip/hike September 20th through Alberta Park, site of the proposed development. Led by District Ranger Tom Malecek the tour was intended to inform the interested public about the project as well as offering a friendly setting for folks to speak with various participants. …

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015

June 4, 2015 - Wolf Creek Land Exchange - Inside Durango TV

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2015/06/idtv-villagewolfcreek-landswap.html

Updated 6/6/2015 - Supervisor Dallas responds to my questions 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

Index of Posts - NO-Village at Wolf Creek - Rio Grande National Forest ( January 2016)

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2016/01/index-of-posts-opposing-village-at-wolf.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016

RGNF asks for patience, wait for the judge to judge.

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2016/01/rgnf-asks-for-patience-wait-for-judge.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016

When is enough, enough - Rio Grande Nat'l Forest and Red McCombs?

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2016/01/redmccombs-bullying-rgnf-usda.html

Forest Service Actively Concealed And Destroyed Information Concerning Planned Development On Wolf Creek Pass

Advocacy groups push for release of records from senior officials 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

Judge rules agency inexplicably withheld information from public

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2015/10/rgnf-inexplicably-withheldinfo.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015

Celebrating Alberta Park and Honoring Wolf Creek

http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2015/05/honoring-wolf-creek.html

also   http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2015/06/june20-wolfcreek-skiarea.html

Art for the Endangered Landscape:  Honoring Wolf Creek 

Friends of Wolf Creek is planning an informative and inspiring art opportunity this summer, honoring Wolf Creek Pass. Artists of all disciplines will converge at the Wolf Creek Ski Area on Saturday June 20, 2015 to spend the day in the creative process. 

UPDATE - VWC-RGNF deal tossed out! Judge Rejects Flawed Process - RockyMtnWild Press Release

ROCKY MTN WILD, PRESS RELEASE: Federal Judge Sets Aside Forest Service Wolf Creek Land Exchange

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Chris

For Immediate Release, May 19, 2017

http://rockymountainwild.org/press-release-federal-judge-sets-aside-forest-service-wolf-creek-land-exchange

Federal Judge Sets Aside Forest Service Wolf Creek Land Exchange

Any future Village Proposal Must Address Development Impacts on the National Forest and Lynx

Denver, CO — The Honorable Senior Judge Richard P. Matsch issued an Order today affirming that the Forest Service “failed to consider important aspects of the issues before them, offered an explanation for their decision that runs counter to the evidence, failed to base their decision on consideration of the relevant factors, and based their decision on an analysis that is contrary to law.” This Order concludes another chapter in this decades long saga to protect Wolf Creek pass from a large scale residential and commercial development that could accommodate 8,000 to 10,000 visitors.

“This ruling is an incredible victory for the flora and fauna that rely on Wolf Creek pass for their survival,” stated Tehri Parker, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Wild. “This order specifically recognizes the ‘unique’ environmental qualities of this region, and the role that it plays as a wildlife movement corridor between the Weminuche and South San Juan Wilderness areas. We couldn’t be happier with this outcome and getting this great news on Endangered Species Day!”