January 2003
Buffalo Pass Snowcat Permit Appealed
The BSA appealed the decision of the approval of A Special Use Permit to Blue Sky West on August 22, 2002. The decision authorizes a new access route to the top of Soda Mountain through the lower Soda Creek area and a large increase in service days for the company's operation in the Buffalo Pass area of the Routt National Forest. Because even the snowmobilers argued against this route saying that it would bring snowmobiles into the non-motorized suggested use area, the BSA was perplexed when this decision was made. After failed negotiations with the permittee and the Forest Service, the BSA is pondering legal action. Recent changes to the suggested use areas near Steamboat will factor into our decision.