Friends of Mount Sunapee

It may seem to have been a quiet summer for Mount Sunapee State Park. Beneath the surface, however,  several important issues simmered, including Okemo’s submission of its master development plan for the next five years. Okemo submitted its proposed Five Year Master Development Plan (MDP III) in June to the Division of State Parks & Recreation and George Bald, Commisioner of the Dept. of Resources and Economic Development. (The Parks division is part of the larger agency, DRED.) 

As you read on, if you want more detailed information about how the state manages the ski area at Mount Sunapee State Park, we point you to the Mount Sunapee Ski Area Oversight Policy (76 KB).

For historical context, Okemo has presented three master development plans since they took over the ski area at Mount Sunapee in 1998. The most recent draft is for 2009-2014. In January 2000, Okemo submitted MDP I to Commissioner Bald, who approved it in September 2000. In June 2004, Okemo submitted a MDP II to Commissioner Sean O'Kane and he approved it in May 2005. The first two master plans for the ski area resulted in strong public opposition to various project proposals. Most memorable, of course, was Okemo’s proposed expansion of the leasehold area and related real estate development in Goshen, contained in MDP II.

In June 2009, Okemo submitted MDP III, as required. Despite Governor Lynch's unambiguous 2005 denial of their request to expand the leasehold, Okemo decided to resubmit that plan again, which remains "dead on arrival" at the State House. Considering the court’s dismissal, this past spring, of Okemo’s lawsuit against the State of New Hampshire regarding their initial expansion plan, their resubmission of this plan in MDP III is even more perplexing. The case now awaits a Supreme Court decision sometime in 2010. (See related article about the lawsuit).

With Governor Lynch's unwavering opposition and the defeated lawsuit as subtext, Commissioner Bald held a single public hearing regarding MDP III on July 14th. Unfortunately, the hearing resulted in rehashing the same private development vs. public interest issues that became moot five years ago with Lynch's election.

Less explored were several long-proposed, yet still troubling, requests for activities within the existing leasehold. Okemo’s proposals include:

• Increased water withdrawals and snowmaking
• Night skiing with its related visual and wildlife impacts
• Significant new tree cutting and trail clearing all over the lease area, including some within forested areas known to have old growth characteristics
• Construction of long-discussed Parking Lot 4 with its impact on erosion and wetlands
• Development of several resort-style and non-traditional park activities including a golf driving range, drive-in movie theater, alpine slide, water slide, mini-golf, and climbing wall.

When viewed as a whole, these "inside the existing leasehold" proposals would result in an unmistakably larger and heavier footprint on our treasured public park. Water quality, air quality, and the park's sense of wildness would be further compromised, and fewer acres of the park would remain open to quiet nature-focused public enjoyment.

Given the declining state of the ski industry due to climate change, economic recession, and an over-reliance on real estate development as profit driver, there is little reason to believe that compromising our public park in the ways proposed by Okemo would result in any positive outcome for the park system or the public. Indeed, these very external factors have kept Okemo from moving forward with approved projects. We think it is time for DRED to carefully reevaluate the previously proposed projects, including those approved by former Commissioner O’Kane in 2005.

Commissioner Bald confirmed directly to FOMS in July 2009 that approvals made by O'Kane do not constrain DRED from denying similar projects now on the table. This is good news and leaves open the possibility of a reversal of agency policy regarding Mount Sunapee State Park in small, but important ways.

As of this writing, Commissioner Bald has not announced his decision regarding MDP III. DRED's published public comment period ended on September 14th. However, FOMS encourages you to communicate at any time with your government leaders about issues of importance. If you have specific comments about Okemo’s proposed master plan, contact Commissioner Bald at the following addresses:

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Fax: 603-271-2629
Mail: Commissioner George Bald DRED, PO Box 1856, Concord, NH 03302

Feel free to share your comments with FOMS via fax, email, or mail. FOMS volunteers monitor the activities and plans for the leasehold at Mount Sunapee State Park.

If you have any information or would like to help us maintain a watchful presence, please contact us.