Heavenly looking to expand summer activities with Epic Discovery Project

An environmental impact report on the Heavenly Epic Discovery Project is ready for public viewing. 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.

Since 2011 the U.S. Forest Service has allowed more summer activities on national forest lands.

The following increase in 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 U.S. Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board all directed the preparation of the report.

There are also some alternative plans for consideration and are available as part of the documents that can be viewed.

The public can view the environmental reports on line,in person at or attend a series of local meetings. The one line reports are available with TRPA, USFS and Lahontan. Documents can be viewed in person at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 35 College Drive in South Lake Tahoe; the TRPA, 128 Market Street in Stateline; the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, 2501 Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe; the El Dorado County Library South Lake Tahoe Branch, 1000 Rufus Allen Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe; and the Douglas County Library Lake Tahoe Branch, 233 Warrior Way in Zephyr Cove.

Public meetings will be held at the TRPA Board Room located at 128 Market Street in Stateline on September 10 and September 24 at 9:30 a.m. or at the Lahontan board meeting on October 8 at 4 p.m. at 971 Silver Dollar Avenue in South Lake Tahoe.

Comments submitted at these public hearings or in writing to any of the responsible agencies will be distributed to each agency and considered in the environmental review process. Comments need not be repeated to each agency. TRPA has been identified as the primary point of contact to address questions and collect comments.

The TRPA Governing Board will use the environmental impact report when it considers amending the existing Ski Area Master Plan, as well as the Regional Plan, for the Epic Discovery Project.

Public comments or questions can be directed to David Landry, TRPA Senior Planner, at 775-589-5214 or dlandry@trpa.org.