31 July 2023
DULUTH The owners of Lutsen Mountains ski resort on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior have asked the U.S. Forest Service to hold off on a decision on a proposed $60 million expansion of the ski resort onto 550 acres of Superior National Forest land.
The proposed expansion, in the works for nearly a decade, would more than double the resort’s downhill ski and snowboard capacity but had come under increasing criticism from environmental groups, Ojibwe bands, backcountry ski enthusiasts and even Superior Hiking Trail supporters.
Forest Service officials had been saying a decision on the expansion was expected this summer, but it now appears the entire process may be on hold indefinitely.
Charles Skinner, the Duluth-based president and owner of Midwest Family Ski Resorts, and his daughter, Charlotte Skinner, chief of staff to the company, released a statement Monday saying they have asked the Forest Service to defer any decision until additional communications are held with several Ojibwe bands that have the right to hunt, fish and gather in the area under the 1854 treaty with the U.S. government.
In a letter to the Superior National Forest Supervisor Thomas Hall, the Skinners said they had a change of heart after the Forest Service and Ojibwe bands in May signed a “historic” memorandum of understanding for land and natural resource management within the treaty-ceded territory, which includes the ski resort.
“We commend Forest Supervisor Hall and the three Chippewa Tribes for agreeing to (a memorandum of understanding) that will usher in a new era of government-to-government relations and respect,” Charles Skinner said in the statement.
Charlotte Skinner noted that the “Forest Service’s approach toward Tribal retained rights has changed significantly since we began our process” of exploring the expansion onto Forest Service land.
“Our decision is to pull back our proposal and start afresh under the (memorandum of understanding) principles. We desire to ensure that a modified proposal would include a clear net benefit for the retained rights of the Chippewa Tribes,” she noted. “We have no timetable and understand that engagement with the treaty parties will require considerable time. Our only goal is to take the time that is needed to find a solution that will benefit the tribes, the community and the public.”
Forest Service officials could not immediately be reached for comment Monday evening.
In addition to Lutsen Mountains, Midwest Family Ski Resorts also owns Granite Peak Ski Resort in Wisconsin and Snow River Mountain Resort in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
In 2021, Superior National Forest officials received more than 560 comments after the Forest Service released an environmental review of the expansion that would require a special use permit to more than double Lutsen’s skier capacity, much of it on Moose Mountain.
Support for the project was strong from most everyone involved in lodging, restaurants or other businesses in Cook County, and among avid downhill skiers who want more new and exciting terrain and expanded services at what is already Minnesota’s largest downhill resort. But opposition, which started a couple of years ago with a small group of backcountry skiers, mushroomed to include statewide environmental groups, dark-sky advocates, hikers and tribal officials who joined the opposition.
The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa called the expansion an “irretrievable loss” of important cultural and natural resources for the tribe.
The proposed expansion first reported in the News Tribune in 2014 called for the resort’s capacity to increase from 2,850 guests per day to 6,300 per day, with a new, on-mountain chalet on Moose Mountain; two new access areas at the base of the hills; 175 acres of traditional, open ski-snowboard terrain; and 149 acres of gladed terrain with more trees left in place.
The company’s proposal includes seven new chairlifts and one surface lift, additional access roads to the new facilities and some rerouting of the Superior Hiking Trail/North Country National Scenic Trail. The two new base areas would add another 1,200 parking spaces serving two new 10,000-square-foot buildings providing a variety of guest services, including food services and seating, ski school space, rental/repair options and more.
Company officials have said the expansion would be developed over a decade or more and could cost nearly $60 million.
The existing Lutsen Mountains complex of four hills, multiple lifts and 95 runs along with ski shops, chalets, taverns, restaurants, condos and hotels now sprawls across 1,000 acres. The expansion would increase the skiable area from 180 to 320 acres, the company notes, and include an expanded base area, additional skier services and more parking on both Eagle Mountain and Moose Mountain.
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