Industry News
According to Friends of the Rio Hondo, the Forest Service has again delayed announcing a decision on the Gondola Project at Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico. While the new schedule hasnโt been reflected yet on the Project Webpage of Forest Service, the internal project schedule has been amended and now is estimated that a decision will be made in May 2024. The project proposes several resort improvements within Taos Ski Valley, including most significantly a gondola of 7,300 feet in length, which can move up to 1,800 per hour between the resortโs base and the Kachina base areas.
The Forest Service seeks to authorize Taos Ski Valley resort to:
- 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 Cafรฉ.
- Construct a lift-four hiking trail.
- Create construction and staging areas.
Critics of the project, which include the Friends of the Rio Hondo group, say that the environmental assessment executed by the Forest Service fell short and should have been more rigorous. The Forest Service had asked for comments back in March 2023 and the public responded with a staggering 619 comments in total to the federally-mandated draft assessment. Comments came especially from residents who live downstream from the ski resort in Valdez, Des Montes, and San Cristobal, but also from winter sports enthusiasts and environmental groups.
The postponement of the decision is not unexpected for Friends of the Rio Hondo, who emphasize that it took the Forest Service almost a year to announce its decision on the scoping phase.
