engage.skibanff.comSunshine Village Ski Area Long-Range Plan and Detailed Impact Assessment | Sunshine Village Long Ra

nge Plan ×on this page may not display correctly. Please enable JavaScript inand education, as well as environmental sustainability. This new plan involvesGladed areas will be cleared using a combination of low ground pressure machines including spyder, feller buncher, harvester, forwarder as well as hand work with chain saws. Logs, branches, and brush will be hand or mechanically skid and stacked on the adjacent ski runs, or within the immediate gladed area, and burned in accordance with BMPs and under PCA burn permits. It is not expected that any of the wood is merchantable (too small to offset cost associated with harvesting) and will therefore be burned on site. Some wood from the lower terminal location may be used for firewood at the Resort. Burn piles will be located in the clearings between the leave trees. Maximum pile size is 7m in diameter and 5m in height. Ensure surrounding live trees will not be scorched or incur stem damage (girdling or burning of bark). All burning to be pre-approved by Parks Canada Fire and Vegetation Management Section. Burning operations require a Restricted Activities Permit from Parks Canada. Limbing would occur for skier safety up to 3 meters above maximum snow depth. Trees of different height/age/type will be left to provide for stand diversity where applicable and in coordination with Parks Canada. Whitebark pine trees will be avoided. All work would be handled in compliance with the 2008 Best Management Practices. Goat’s Eye II Lift Location in Red (for further detail, download the Maps Document, see pg. 6) Goat’s Eye Lift and Glades (for further detail, download the Maps Document, see pg. 7) Context and Need: Goat’s Eye I chairlift top terminal extends into the high-alpine. On poor weather days, during high-wind or decreased visibility, the visitor experience can be challenging on Goat’s Eye I. The Goat’s Eye II chairlift will have a lower top terminal at treeline. It provides a more comfortable experience on weather days. It will also spread visitors out between the two lifts, serving the vast Goat’s Eye Mountain terrain. There is a demand by advanced and higher-level skiers for improved tree skiing opportunities. On weather days, skiers prefer to ski within gladed areas to avoid the wind and poor visibility at the wide-open ski trails. The remaining trees provide wind protection and improve visual definition of the terrain for the skier. The lower terminal of Goat’s Eye II is located uphill of the bottom of Goat’s Eye I, dispersing skiers more effectively and reducing crowding at the bottom of Goat’s Eye I. Glading/thinning these areas will reduce wildfire fuel on Goat’s Eye Mountain. Reducing fuel will protect the facilities and assets in the event of wildfire. The terrain proposed for glading is within the existing skiable terrain at the Resort. This project allows more people of different ability levels to access these areas as a result of the thinning. Policy Substantiation and Applicable Requirements: The 2018 Site Guidelines provide for the expansion of lift capacity within the limits of growth (8,500 skiers at one time). The additional capacity added from this project is included in the resort balancing” analysis contained in Section 4.2 of this Long-Range Plan. The 23 ha of glading will not count against the 80 ha of additional ski terrain approved in the 2018 Site Guidelines as these areas do not represent new ski trails/runs; more importantly they represent an improvement (through thinning) to existing ski terrain within the developed area. Goat’s Eye II and the glade areas are within the existing Developed Area, as mapped in the 2018 Site Guidelines. The tree removal activity would occur in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Ski Run and Vegetation Management Strategy developed and contained in this Long-Range Plan and the 2008 Best Management Practices. Additional Chair Capacity and Chair Parking Rail on Teepee Town Chairlift : Overview: When the TeePee Town chairlift was re-constructed from a fixed grip double to a high-speed quad chair in 2015, the uphill capacity of the lift was designed to be 1,800 people per hour. The initial uphill capacity built was 1,200 people per hour. This is because the development permit was a like-for-like permit and the chairlift being replaced had an uphill capacity of 1,200 people per hour. Scope: Twenty-four additional chairs will be installed on the existing ropeway. The parking rail, which is used to store chairs overnight and out of the high winds will be extended to accommodate and park these additional chairs. The footprint of the project is approximately .04 ha. TeePee Town Conceptual Parking Rail Extension (for further detail, download the Maps Document, see pg. 5) Context and Need: The TeePee Town lift is very popular with visitors, as it is the only bubble lift with heated seats in the Canadian Rockies. The existing capacity of 1,200 people per hour is far below industry norms for a high-speed detachable quad chairlift. On cold days in particular, the line for this lift becomes very long. The additional chairs will provide an improved visitor experience. Existing TeePee Town Chair Parking Rail Policy Substantiation and Applicable Requirements: The 2018 Site Guidelines provide for the expansion of lift capacity within the limits of growth (8,500 skiers at one time). The additional capacity added from this project is included in the resort balancing” analysis contained in Section 4.2 of the Long-Range Plan. Please note that all comments posted below are public. If you would like to provide comments directly to Sunshine Village and Parks Canada, please email lrp@skibanff.com . 9 comments Summary of Detailed Impact Assessment Share Summary of Detailed Impact Assessment on Facebook Share Summary of Detailed Impact Assessment on Twitter Share Summary of Detailed Impact Assessment on Linkedin Email Summary of Detailed Impact Assessment link CLOSED: This discussion has concluded. Introduction: Ecological integrity is the first priority in the management of Canada’s national parks. Parks Canada recognizes downhill skiing as a cornerstone of winter tourism in Banff National Park. Carefully planned and managed ski areas contribute to Parks Canada’s objectives of providing meaningful visitor experiences. Under the Site Guidelines, The Sunshine Village Ski Area in Banff National Park has prepared its first Long-Range Plan, which details the ski area’s development plans for a period of five years. The environmental impacts of the draft Long-Range Plan have been assessed through a draft Detailed Impact Assessment, Park Canada’s most comprehensive impact assessment process. A Detailed Impact Assessment ensures clear understanding of the potential project impacts, both positive and negative, and prepares the project to address any risks or adverse impacts. In national parks, maintenance of ecological integrity is a mandated objective. Therefore, Detailed Impact Assessments focus on the effect a project may have on natural and cultural resources important to the ecological integrity of the park. The full Detailed Impact Assessment can be found in the Document library of this website. Summary of Detailed Impact Assessment: Sunshine Village Corporation (Sunshine) operates the Sunshine Village Ski Area (Ski Area) and is proposing to expand the resort within defined growth limits under a first Long Range Plan (LRP). The LRP will bring the resort into balance with the goal of achieving a capacity of 8,500 skiers-at-one-time (SAOT) from the current capacity of 6,500 SAOT; approximately 30% growth based on the existing supply of available parking, transit, commercial space, and lift service. Existing operations at Sunshine include 137 ski trails (runs) ranging from the upper alpine to lower sub-alpine and a lift system consisting of a single, two-stage gondola, nine chairlifts, and two magic carpets. The Ski Area offers sightseeing and hiking in the summer...