Heli-skiing company cited for cutting trees in National Forest

By Marcy Stamper
The U.S. Forest Service has issued a notice of non-compliance to a Mazama heli-skiing company for cutting two dozen trees on a high ridge to create an unauthorized helicopter landing zone.

The Forest Service received a call from a backcountry skier at the end of February describing the cutting of at least 21 trees on a ridge between Varden and Silverstar creeks, east of the Cascade crest, according to the notice of non-compliance, which was issued by the Forest Service to North Cascade Heli-Skiing on March 30.

A notice of non-compliance is essentially a warning, advising the permittee that if the action occurs again, the permit could be canceled or restricted, according to Jennifer Zbyszewski, recreation program manager for the Methow Valley Ranger District.

Notices of non-compliance are “infrequent, but not uncommon,” issued for any action that violates the terms and conditions of a permit, regardless of the severity, she said.

“This is a serious non-compliance issue for North Cascade Heli to cut that landing in – it is different than a packer taking an oversized party,” said Zbyszewski. “It’s not like those trees are going to grow back next year.”

Zbyszewski said she had had a very frank discussion with North Cascade Heli-Skiing co-owners Paul Butler and Ken Brooks after the incident, and that they understand that it was not acceptable to cut the trees and create a new landing site.

Butler would not comment on the situation except to say, “We are working with the Forest Service to better understand what we are allowed to do to ensure our guests’ safety.”

Laurie Dowie, special uses administrator for minerals and wilderness for the Methow Valley Ranger District, hiked to the site on Friday (Aug. 24) to evaluate the damage and found that 21 live trees – 15 whitebark pine, five subalpine larch, and one subalpine fir – and three snags had been cut.

The trees, 2 to 11 inches in diameter, were sawed off 4 to 6 feet above the ground and some (particularly the smaller ones) still have branches that could regenerate, said Dowie. Given the slow rate of growth at that elevation (about 6,800 feet), she concluded that the larger trees are “pretty old.”

Documents about the incident obtained from the Forest Service by a member of the public through the Freedom of Information Act and provided to the Methow Valley News include correspondence between Dowie and Butler. In an email to Dowie on April 11, Butler wrote, “The top landing located there has historically been very tight for the helicopter. This season, with a pilot who hadn’t flown with us before, we decided to limb some trees and branches to make the existing landing safer. ... The trimming occurred on two separate days between 2/18 – 2/20 ... The cutting was done by owners Ken Brooks and Paul Butler, along with the pilot, Scott Murray.”

The Forest Service is working with North Cascade Heli to be more specific about what is permissible in terms of trimming vegetation, said Zbyszewski. The company is permitted to trim trees or branches to keep the landing sites safe, but they are not authorized to create a new landing or to enlarge an existing one, she said. The new landing is about one-quarter mile from the old one, along the same ridge, said Dowie.

“We were clearly mistaken in doing this, and should have sought permission, or better yet, perhaps given up on the run altogether,” wrote Butler in the email. “I hope this unauthorized removal of vegetation, in deference to safety, is seen as an aberration, and that North Cascade Heli is trusted as a good steward of this public land.”

Zbyszewski said the helicopter pilot had previously worked in areas where different rules apply and she understood he was trying to find a safer spot.

“I felt confident [after meeting with the owners] that the pilot who did the cutting wasn’t doing a willful noncompliance act,” she said. She said she stressed to Butler and Brooks that they must clearly communicate to employees what is and is not permissible.

Calculating compensation
The value of the damage will be assessed based on the size and species of trees, and North Cascade Heli will be required to compensate the Forest Service for the loss, said Zbyszewski. It is not clear how the value will be calculated – it could be based on the cost of replanting or re-seeding the area, including staff time, said Zbyszewski. Because these species are not usually used for timber, assigning a value is not straightforward, she said.

Dowie said it is difficult to imagine digging a hole on the ridge to plant a tree and that most trees seemed to have taken hold by seeding. “It’s really rocky ground – just a rock point,” she said. The agency will consult with staff botanists and other specialists to determine the amount of restitution. The meeting has not been set but could occur within the week, said Dowie.

The Forest Service first learned about the damage from several backcountry skiers, who documented and photographed the cut trees in deep snow last winter. The skiers also posted accounts and photos of the damage on an online discussion site frequented by backcountry skiers. Some of their exchanges mentioned concerns about avalanche risks if skiers cannot coordinate their ski runs with others in the area.

The backcountry skiers typically get to their ski runs by traveling on the North Cascades Highway by snowmobile and then using climbing skins on their skis to ascend to the runs.

A 30-year history
North Cascade Heli has a permit and an operating plan with the Forest Service that identify all authorized landing sites and ski routes, indicated by dots and lines drawn on a map. Forest Service administrators are in the process of assigning more precise GPS coordinates to the landing sites, said Dowie. There are close to 150 drop-off and pick-up sites, according to the map.

The permit specifies that “any new ski runs, drop points, or pick-up points must be approved in the annual operation plan after review by the District wildlife biologist and recreation specialist to assess potential impacts to grizzly bear denning habitat, northern spotted owls, wolverines, and other winter recreationists.”

While the permit area encompasses almost 300,000 acres, the company is limited in terms of where it can land and ski, said Zbyszewski. Their operating plan allows 1,050 skier days between Dec. 1 and April 30, use of a wilderness yurt and hut, and filming of skiers. It also specifies fueling sites and the location of remote fuel caches, among other details.

The company is allowed a maximum of 25 skiers per day, including guides (typically four skiers per guide). The plan notes that North Cascades Heli will make efforts to avoid conflicts with other users, to the extent possible, while maintaining safe skiing conditions.

The first special-use permit for helicopter-assisted skiing in the Methow Valley Ranger District was issued in 1982, although a succession of businesses has operated under the permits. North Cascade Heli took over the business in 1988 and has been under permit every year since then, according to an environmental analysis done by the Forest Service in 2002. Butler and Brooks bought the company in 2005.

While the permit had been in existence for years, the Forest Service had not conducted a proper environmental analysis, so they used the 2001 permit-renewal process to study the impacts of several alternatives and to invite public comment, said Zbyszewski. The review also led to inclusion of more specific terms in the permit, such as the number of user days and helicopters.

Zbyszewski said the review was “contentious” and the permit was appealed by backcountry skiers and environmental organizations in 2001 and 2002. The environmental groups also challenged the agency’s review in a lawsuit in 2004, but the Forest Service’s analysis and decisions were upheld in court, said Zbyszewski.

Under the terms of their permit, North Cascade Heli pays the Forest Service 3 percent of its annual gross receipts, which ranged from $10,500 to $14,000 over the past several years, said Dowie.

The operating plan is up for renewal this year and the Forest Service is currently reviewing a draft submitted by the company. The permit expires in 2016.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service: These subalpine larch were among the 21 trees cut to create an unauthorized helicopter landing spot.


Aug. 29, 2102
 

Date: 08-29-2012  |  Volume: 110  |  Issue: 16

I support heli-skiing in the Washington Pass area when it abides by the rules.

I know you do..we've had this conversation before. A lot of TAYers enjoy their services, be it heli days or yurt transfers and we all benefit from their excellent avy reporting and community service.

The most worrying aspect of all this...at least to me....is that when 21 cuts was discovered and investigated by the FS, why didn't NCH/Butler( in the article is says 21 cuts was performed by Butler) voluntarily disclose 18 cuts as well, if as we presume, they were both cut at the same time ?

It's a well established PR rule that "cover ups" and the repercussions thereof can be far more damaging in the long run than just admitting mistakes were made and dealing with that.

I really want to to hear from NCH .

Hey Scotsman,

Can you provide a link to the Seattle Times article you posted? I'm almost certain that the article is ten years old. Randy Sackett is no longer connected to NCHS. I remember well the issues discussed in the article you posted. I wrote a letter to the Forest Service about them ten years ago.

Your post suggests that there is a connection between the Times article and the recent blowup about tree cutting. If so, you need to clarify what you mean, since I'm pretty sure there's a ten-year gap here.

Thanks.

Also see this article in ST.
Seems like the timing of the new TAY posts and this article is not a coincidence.( Edit to add:WRONG-See post below from Lowell Skoog....thanks, Scotsman)
Matt Firth( our new TAY poster) is quoted.




Id' like to hear more about this new group that is appealing the NCH permit.
It's called the North Cascades Backcountry Skiers.
Who are their members and what is their stated goal?
Care to elaborate Mr. Firth and freeskiguy?

I'm more and more concerned that this is heli-hating rather than " concerned citizens keeping NCH honest.
I find it telling that all the posters and groups appealing the existing permit start their quotes and articles with a statement that they don't want to shut down heli-skiing.

From my life experience;( this could be a Dave Mathews song as well freeskiguy)

The racist start by telling you he has black friends,
The politician says freedom is the most important thing in the world and the Patriot Act is required to support Freedom,
The liar starts his lie by stating the everything he is about to tell you is true,
and the heli-hater says he doesn't want to close them down...... just make it impossible for them to operate.

Disputes heating up on snowy back trails
By Chris Solomon[
Seattle Times staff reporter
   


With timber harvesting all but stopped on federal lands in the Northwest, new battles are nudging the old logger vs. tree hugger debate out of the spotlight. One close to home pits environmentalists against recreationalists, and recreationalists against one another — hiker vs. mountain biker, snowshoer vs. snowmobiler, backcountry skier vs. helicopter skier.

In the Okanogan-Wenatchee national forests, two environmental groups have challenged a decision by local Forest Service officials to renew permits for snowmobile outfitters. Those groups, along with some backcountry skiers, are also challenging the permit for a 14-year-old heli-skiing operation in the forest's Methow Valley.

On Monday, acting deputy regional forester Gary Larsen turned both decisions back to local ranger districts with orders to give the public another chance to comment on the proposed permits. The companies will receive temporary permits to continue this winter.

Such conflicts are not new in the Methow or elsewhere but are increasing as more people head to the woods for recreation, and as the "toys" and equipment to access the backcountry improve, according to Forest Service officials.

"There are a lot of people out there on the national forest who would really, really like to go there and not see another person," said Jennifer Zbyszewski, recreation staff officer for the Methow Valley Ranger District. "And that's getting harder to do. "The more popular places are where the numbers are increasing, and we're seeing increased tension."

For the past three years North Cascades Heli-Skiing in Mazama has sought renewal of its five-year permit to fly skiers within a 300,000-acre area in the Okanogan National Forest. For $675 a day, a helicopter drops skiers on mountaintops and retrieves them after long, powder-filled runs.

Business has been growing about 20 to 30 percent annually, to nearly 600 skiers last winter, said Randy Sackett, who has owned the company since 1988. Sackett wants permission to roughly double the potential skier-days, to 1,050. A skier-day is one skier skiing for one day.

Three snowmobile outfitters also applied for renewals of permits to deliver rented snowmobiles to clients and guide them from 10 Sno-Parks in the Tonasket and Methow Valley ranger districts, and to use a warming hut in Blackpine Basin, a popular snowmobile area. All of the companies had permits in the past.

After environmental analyses, the district rangers in October agreed to grant permits to the operations. But both decisions were appealed by the Kettle Range Conservation Group and Methow Forest Watch. Another group, the North Cascades Backcountry Skiers, joined in appealing the heli-skiing permit.

"We're not trying to shut down heli-skiing," said Matt Firth, an ardent backcountry skier who has lived in the nearby Twisp River Valley area since the mid-1980s. Some self-propelled skiers fear that a potential doubling of heli-skiers, and the possible addition of a second helicopter, would impinge on the solitude that backcountry travelers seek, said Firth.

"Anybody who's ever spent time in the mountains in winter can appreciate that a helicopter flying overhead is a big intrusion."

Environmentalists claim the Forest Service does not fully recognize the impacts that heli-skiing and snowmobiling have on sensitive or endangered species such as lynx, grizzly bear and wolverines — particularly when those businesses are combined with private snowmobile use, which makes up most such use in the area.

"They have utterly failed to address cumulative effects," said Susan Crampton, a field biologist and board member of Methow Forest Watch, a small environmental watchdog group. "We're talking about a long list of uncommon and reclusive wildlife that is being pushed and pushed and pushed."

Crampton added that she is not against snowmobiling. "But it's the Forest Service's responsibility to manage that without damage to forest resources," she said. "And they haven't done that." She said the groups would sue if necessary to block the permits.

Sackett, of North Cascades Heli-Skiing, himself a backcountry skier, said concerns are overblown. He said the company doesn't plan to double its business, and wants the option to use a second helicopter only if a private party wants to reserve it. Guides and pilots rarely see wildlife in the high alpine environment in winter, Sackett said, but the company agreed to avoid some slopes that might contain mountain goats and will be required to report sightings of wolverine tracks or dens.

Such recreation conflicts remain limited mostly to urban-influenced areas, but the issue will only increase as more people move to once-rural places, said Ken Karkula, program manager for recreation special uses for the Forest Service in Washington, D.C.

"You're going to have the pressures, as the national forests become the city parks, the county parks, if you will," Karkula said.

The number of conflicts has also increased as the toys of the backcountry have changed, said Al Soucie, snow ranger for the Salt Lake Ranger District in Utah, home to an ongoing dispute between heli-skiers and backcountry shredders. Better snowshoes, snowboards that can be split and used as skis to ascend mountains, and more powerful snowmobiles make going deeper into the mountains much easier, said Soucie.

Chris Solomon can be reached at 206-515-5646 or csolomon@seattletimes.com.