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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:
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Increased water withdrawals and snowmaking
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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
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Construction of long-discussed Parking Lot 4 with its impact on erosion and wetlands
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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. |
