Forest Society Comment on Mt Sunapee Decision

The recent decision by DRED Commissioner Jeff Rose to propose an expansion of the ski area at Mount Sunapee State Park comes after more than two years of review and discussion.  There has been more than a decade of debate about whether any expansion of the ski operation at Mount Sunapee State Park is a good thing or not.   

As an advocate for the protection of Mount Sunapee and its forested landscape for more than a century, the Forest Society continues to be concerned with the potential adverse impacts of the proposed expansion on the ecological integrity of these forests.  At the same time, we believe Commissioner Rose has done thoughtful job of considering and responding to public input.  The new agreement proposed by the Commissioner is far superior to the original proposal advanced by Mount Sunapee Resort.  

The decision as to whether the expansion should occur now moves to Governor Hassan and the Executive Council.  We encourage Governor  Hassan and the Executive Council to take more than six days to fully consider and evaluate Commissioner Rose’s recommendation and the public responses to it.  Should the Governor and Council approve the new lease amendment, and should the expansion proceed, the State needs to pay close attention to the monitoring of natural resources affected by the expansion.  We trust that DRED will take appropriate actions to protect natural resources if the monitoring reveals that construction and/or operation of the proposed expansion create avoidable ecological problems.