In a contentious move on March 8, Coconino National Forest Supervisor Nora Rasure
approved plans for the Flagstaff, Arizona, Snowbowl ski area to install snowmaking
equipment and build a snowboard park, additional lifts, and two lodges, on Hopi
and Navajo sacred land. The Hopi and Navajo have worked with environmental groups
for years to oppose this development in the San Francisco Peaks. "This plan
is culturally and environmentally destructive," Andy Bessler of the Sierra
Club told the Arizona Central. Rasure said that snowmaking will allow patrons
of the ski mountain to ski during dry winters and will boost the local economy.
