Heavenly's Epic Project closer to reality; Final environmental report ready

The final environmental impact report on Heavenly Mountain Resort's Epic Discovery Project has been completed and is now ready for public review. The new project, located at Heavenly Mountain Resort, will expand their summer activities to include more canopy tours, hiking and biking trails as well as interpretive activities.

The proposed project covers three counties: El Dorado, Alpine and Douglas. A collaborative effort by the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, TRPA, and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board directed the preparation of the joint environmental document for the proposed project.

The TRPA Advisory Planning Commission is scheduled to review the final EIR/EIS document and make a recommendation on certification on March 11. The TRPA Governing Board is scheduled to review the document for consideration and possible certification at its regular meeting on March 25-26.

The following activities are being proposed:

At Adventure Peak: Mid-Station Zipline Canopy Tour, Sky Cycle Canopy Tour, Forest Flyer Alpine Coaster, Smaller Infill Activities and Interpretive Activities at Tamarack Lodge.

At East Peak Basin: Mountain Bike Park, East Peak Zipline Canopy Tour, East Peak Reservoir Water Activities, Interpretive Activities at East Peak Lodge and the East Peak Lodge Hiking Trail.

At Sky Meadows Basin: Sky Meadows Zipline Canopy Tour, Sky Meadows Challenge Course,Ridge Run Lookout Tower and Observation Deck, Interpretive Activities at Sky Deck.

Mountainwide Educational Opportunities and Interpretive Information, Mountain Excursion Tour,Connecting Trails (e.g., Panorama Trail to connect East Peak Lake area to Tahoe Rim Trail and Van Sickle Park),Emergency Gondola Snow Cat Evacuation Route (Winter Use Only).

The final EIR/EIS document is available online at http://www.trpa.org/document/projects-plans/. Hard copies of the documents are available at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 35 College Drive in South Lake Tahoe; TRPA, 128 Market Street in Stateline; Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, 2501 Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe; El Dorado County Library South Lake Tahoe Branch, 1000 Rufus Allen Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe; and Douglas County Library Lake Tahoe Branch, 233 Warrior Way in Zephyr Cove.