By Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff
Tuesday, December 21, 2004 - Wasatch Powderbirds likely thought they were golden.

But the welfare of golden eagles in the Wasatch backcountry could delay issuance of a special use permit recently renewed by the U.S. Forest Service for Wasatch Powderbird Guides to continue helicopter skiing in Little Cottonwood, Big Cottonwood and Millcreek canyons. Save our Canyons and the Utah Environmental Congress appealed the decision this month.

"We're not afraid to go to court," said Kevin Mueller, executive director of the Utah Environmental Congress.

At issue, is whether helicopter pilots have steered clear of eagle nests in the central Wasatch as required by a five-year permit issued by the Forest Service to Powderbird Guides in 1999, Mueller said, adding that U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials enforce buffers around the nests to prevent helicopters from scaring the birds.

"Wasatch Powderbird Guides knows that they molest, which means they haze the golden eagles it has been documented that the helicopters scare them and they fly away when the helicopters get too close," Mueller said, adding that no data exists that indicates the company has obeyed the rules. "Nobody knows if Wasatch Powderbird Guides is following those buffers or not."

The government rejected requests from the environmental groups that the Forest Service require Wasatch Powderbird Guides to document their flights using global positioning, he said, adding that studies show golden eagles in the central Wasatch have a more difficult time nesting than eagles in other parts of Utah.

"Lack of data collection, that is the central theme in the appeal," Mueller said.

Powderbird Guides failed to collect nesting data for eagles required by its current permit and with the renewal the Forest Service removed the mandate, Mueller said.

In 1999, Save Our Canyons appealed the company's current permit, which expires in 2004.

"We'd like to see a study of how many users are out there," said Lisa Smith, executive director of Save Our Canyons.

Discussions with the Forest Service about eagle monitoring and an analysis of how many backcountry skiers use the Wasatch could result in the organization dropping its appeal. However, if the Forest Service quashes the appeal in January by not overturning the decision, Save Our Canyons intends to sue in United States District Court, Smith said.

"We don't think what they've done is helping to reduce conflict," she adds.

Mueller wants Wasatch Powderbird Guides banned from skiing on Saturdays and any time in the Millcreek watershed.

"It deals with a conflict between backcountry skiers and helicopter skiers, but it also deals with National Environmental Policy Act responsibilities to use adequate data to expose the affects," he said. "There's no way to accurately assess what the total cumulative impact is to goshawk, three-toed woodpecker and lynx."

The Forest Service has failed to monitor the impacts of helicopter skiing on the health of key indicator species in the so-called Tri-Canyons area, Mueller said.

"National Forests have to monitor a handful of keystone species as proxies or bellwethers that represent the diversity and viability of entire communities of fish and wildlife," he said. Among which are snowshoe hares and woodpeckers.

Failing to collect and examine available data violates NEPA and the National Forest Management Act, Mueller said.

"Backcountry use is going up they need to make that decision in light of the best available data," he said. "The Forest Service has really blown off a lot of laws in this decision."

The renewed permit did not change much and the Tri-Canyons are off limits to helicopters on Sundays and Mondays. However, between Dec. 15 and April 15, Wasatch Powderbird Guides are allowed to swap three Saturdays to ski three Mondays.

The new permit also allows five days outside of the ski season, for pre-season preparations or extended spring skiing, said Rusty Dassing, a senior Powderbird guide. If the decision survives appeal, the permit would expire in 2009.

The Tri-Canyons are hotspots for conflicts between helicopter skiers and non-motorized users and with all wilderness free of choppers, the Forest Service has achieved balance between the groups by banning helicopter skiing in the area two days each week, said Tom Tidwell, forest supervisor for the Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

"Groups like Save Our Canyons are trying to end helicopter skiing in Utah," said Dassing, who expects Powderbird Guides to ski 150 days this season. "It's pretty well been decided time and time again."

The company appealed the decision Nov. 29.