Welcome. We are not hippies, tree huggers, liberal-commies, or whatever you may have heard. Well, some of us are, but collectively we are a group of concerned citizens from all over the political spectrum. Some of us are Republican delegates, lawyers, doctors, realtors, and accountants. Some of us are parents, executives, educators, and stay-at-home moms. Some of us ski at Canyons Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort, and in the backcountry. Some of us hike, bike, ride ATVs, cross country ski, and hunt. While we are from many and varied backgrounds, each of us loves the Wasatch and wants to preserve them for future generations.
SkiLink, the proposed, forced sale of public lands in the Wasatch to Talisker, a Canadian real estate developer, would connect Canyons Resort, in Summit County, to Solitude Mountain Resort, in Salt Lake County. Its supporters claim SkiLink would reduce traffic in Big Cottonwood Canyon, but the facts do not support that claim. SkiLink starts high on the mountain at Canyons Resort, in a gated community, accessible to the public only by taking four or five ski lifts.
SkiLink is opposed by the USFS (the current owner of the property in question), Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City, Save Our Canyons, Winter Wildlands Alliance, and many Utah residents for many reasons, including:
- The supply of public land in the Wasatch is limited
- The construction will likely degrade the watershed and lead to more development
- The project, if it is about transportation rather than resort expansion, is the least desirable of many more thoughtful alternatives
- The sale process averts NEPA and other public processes and smacks of a deal among pals rather than a conscious effort to do what is best for the Wasatch and the public who recreates there
If you hike, bike, ski, photograph, or enjoy water from the Wasatch (where almost all water in Salt Lake County comes from), please join in the effort to stop SkiLink. Together we can force a public process that properly weighs the competing and important interests.
Thank you for visiting.