Washington – Sen. Ken Salazar Tuesday asked for an investigation into whether political influence was used to get federal approval for a $1 billion ski-village development in southwest Colorado, and he wants federal officials to halt work on the project during the probe.
Salazar said he’s concerned about the allegations of retired U.S. Forest Service manager Ed Ryberg regarding his agency’s approval of the mountaintop Village at Wolf Creek on U.S. 160.
“He believes there was improper political influence brought to bear on the decisionmakers. If that is so, that is wrong,” Salazar, D-Colo., said of Ryberg. “The only way you get to the bottom of the allegations is to have an investigation.”
The developer of the proposed Wolf Creek village, Texas billionaire B.J. “Red” McCombs, is a major Republican donor and friend of the family of President Bush. He is locked in a bitter legal and political battle with the Pitcher family, which owns the adjacent Wolf Creek ski area and wants to keep it a no-frills operation.
The Denver Post reported in February that McCombs lobbied for the appointment of Mark Rey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture official who oversees the Forest Service, and that McCombs and his allies have since met repeatedly with Rey to discuss the controversial project. Ryberg went public about his concerns in a Post story in April.
Forest Service spokesman Dan Jiron rejected allegations that McCombs’ political connections won him special treatment. He said the agency is moving forward with the development’s permit, though no work is currently being done because of an ongoing appeals process.
“We feel good about the analysis process” that led to approval, Jiron said.
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has requested more information about the Wolf Creek situation because of Salazar’s request for work to stop, said Terri Teuber, Johanns’ spokeswoman.
“He takes those concerns seriously. He’s looking into it,” Teuber said.
Salazar asked the Agriculture Department’s office of inspector general to conduct the investigation. The office did not return phone calls seeking comment Tuesday.
McCombs’ business partner and spokesman, Bob Honts, did not return calls. Ski area spokeswoman Michelle Ames said the resort had no comment.
McCombs is planning a June groundbreaking for the resort on the mountain pass between Durango and Alamosa. Situated on a 288-acre inholding within the Wolf Creek ski area, it is to include 2,172 residential units and 222,100 square feet of commercial space.
Crucial to his plans was the Forest Service’s early April decision, after years of environmental studies, to grant access to the village site from U.S. 160 via two short routes.
Ryberg said those studies were affected by a key but erroneous decision made after a meeting early in the process that included Dave Tenny, Rey’s deputy.
McCombs’ representatives said then they already had enough road access to build the project. When the Forest Service took them at their word, Ryberg said, it limited its study to how the environment would be affected by building roads rather than how it would be affected by a 10,000-person development.
But the road McCombs said he could use is closed, buried in snow and crossed by ski runs during the winter.
“We were basically told by Tenny to help these guys and address their issues,” Ryberg said.
“The ski area was being obstinate, and they needed to be able to demonstrate they already had access so the project could move along.”
