Crystal is getting a gondola

I have mixed feelings about this.

[...]

The balance of private industry doing good on public lands is better than what the government can provide.

Your second sentence doesn't make sense to me in the light of history. The Forest Service was created in the early 1900s to protect public forests from the depredations of private industry. Government interference was needed because American forests were being ravaged. This made a big difference through about WWII, but after the war the Forest Service got cozy with timber interests and logging took over again. In the past few decades, the pendulum has swung back toward conservation somewhat, but not entirely.

The red tape that has grown up since the 1970s grew up for a reason. As long as it is applied fairly, I don't think it is going to choke off the ability of private industry to do new things or compete successfully. The problem comes when the red tape is applied in some places and not others. That seems to be what you are describing around Greenwater, where the loggers may have the upper hand over community interests.

Guess that explains why they didn't step up to the plate for VertFest Crystal this year.   They'd rather raise rates than raise avalanche awareness  : 

Huh? Consolidating the VertFest into one larger, more exciting event at Alpental didn't come from Crystal. You might check with the sponsors and organizers.

Is that little emoticon thingy meant to negate your second sentence? Tell your friends to check-out:
www.skicrystal.com/safety
www.blogcrystal.com
www.avalanche.org/~nai/
The Easysearcher beacon practice area next to Campbell Basin Lodge at Crystal
Beacon Basin at Alpental, across from the main parking lot, by the Snow Lakes trailhead.

and I'm sure Plinko knows that Boyne operates (and effectively now owns) Snoqualmie/Alpental.

"The Crystal lifties are always OK as far as I am concerned except for Bandit who once stole a line of untracked I had been eyeing from the Chair 6 line. Never forgiven him for that.!!! "

I saved you some lines on the King. Toaster and Hourglass still hold some cold , fresh lines. Hit it tomorrow!

"The millions spent toward working within these regulations is part of doing business"

Hey Keith. It's pretty sad when our neighbors to the north, (Whistler) can build a tram in a very short time span, while Crystal gets mired down in 1,000's of pages of reports and millions of dollars in studies, to find out that , yes, Crystal can and is a steward of the forest lands and they can build without destroying the little spotted salamander.

I quit going to the meetings early on, because of the nonsense being spewed from, yes, what I call the wackos of the forest lands. If it were up to those granola munching , tree lovers, there would be no ski resorts.

JMHO.

BTW: Crystal does not pay any wages (other than taxes) for the national park ranger that patrols MRNP boundary on Crystal Ridge. The wages and benefits, vehicle driven every day, maintenance, the lift pass are all paid by the taxpayers.
To dedicate that much tax dollars in hard times; there is a reason she is working that area beyond serving the public and protecting the park lands.
My mind thinks it is to collect data to limit future skier access to our park.

Thanks for the clarification Joe.  My earlier reference was to the original USFS permit decision prior to our appeals where Boyne had agreed to fund two NPS positions under pressure from the NPS.  I agree with your assessment.  The NPS would like to use access to the King to drive their long-term agenda at Crystal.

Having not lived in Greenwater for a few years, I'm curious where the logging on USFS land is currently taking place.  Shoot me a PM when you can as I'd like to learn more.

Also - is Bandit correct that access to USFS land from the ski area is being prohibited in some fashion?  Hope not as I thought we won that battle the first time.

Thanks!