Opinion ID: 170192
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Increased Backcountry Usage

Text: The Forest Service identified and evaluated as an important issue increasing usage of backcountry recreation areas. The EIS for the 2005 permit recognized that use of the backcountry for winter recreation has been increasing, but [r]eliable estimates of the number of individuals recreating in the Central Wasatch backcountry during the winter are still not available. The question can be addressed at one level by looking at national trends, which show that . . . alternatives to resort skiing have gained significant popularity over the past decade. ER 589. Based on trends in equipment sales, calls to the Utah Avalanche Forecast. Center, and observations by Forest Service personnel, WPG employees, and backcountry users themselves, the EIS concluded, most of the anecdotal information reviewed for this analysis suggests that winter backcountry use is high and growing, and that the trend is likely to persist. Some incremental shifts in the types and patterns of backcountry recreation other than heli-skiing may have occurred but cannot be reliably documented. ER 590-91. Accordingly, the EIS adopted the 1999 EIS's analysis of backcountry usage patterns, while allowing for an overall increase in usage. ER 591. [2] In response to public comments on the absence of hard data, the Forest Service concluded the updated but still largely qualitative information on other backcountry use in the permit area considered in this analysis is sufficient for public disclosure and informed decision making. ER 680. [T]he Forest Service acknowledges that the backcountry sees relatively high levels of recreation use, [and] such use is likely to increase over time. . . . However, the EIS provides adequate information to make the decision at hand and is consistent with the requirements of NEPA. ER 680. Although the Forest Service acknowledged backcountry use had increased since the 1999 EIS, the Forest Service concluded with regard to safety, kilo new circumstances or information has developed since the 1999 analysis that would alter the[ ] conclusions from the 1999 EIS. ER 572, 573. Thus the Forest Service specifically considered whether its data was sufficient and concluded that it was. The information the Forest Service gathered supports its conclusion that additional data was unnecessary to its decision. In particular, the Forest Service concluded that if it anticipated that heli-skiing would be curtailed at some specific level of backcountry use, more and better data might be relevant. ER 680; see also ER 703 (noting further study might be appropriate if the Forest Plan directs that recreation use be capped at certain levels, or if agency direction requires some uses to be given preference over others). Given the Forest Service's goal of balancing recreational opportunities, the qualitative information it obtainedspecifically that nonmotorized backcountry use was increasing and was heaviest in areas nearest to population centers and on weekendsenabled it to craft permit terms to minimize conflict between user groups. For example, the Forest Service considered alternatives and adopted permit terms limiting WPG operations in the most heavily used area on weekends. In short, the information the Forest Service gathered was sufficient to sharply define] the issues and provid[e] a clear basis for choice among options. 40 C.F.R. § 1502.14.