Tamarack Resort has submitted a special use permit application to the U.S. Forest Service to expand and enhance operations at the all-season destination. Prior to submitting a special use permit application, Tamarack updated its Master Development Plan (MDP), which sets the resort’s long-term development vision and identifies the mountain terrain necessary for expanding winter and summer operations on lands administered by the Boise National Forest. The images on this page are from Tamarack’s Master Development Plan and have not been approved by the U.S. Forest Service.
Tamarack’s proposed terrain expansion will be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, which will require a public comment process before a special use permit can be issued.
Tamarack proposes to establish a 40-year term SUP on 3,307 acres of Boise National Forest lands adjacent to Tamarack’s existing ski area, as authorized by the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986, 16 U.S.C. § 497b. The proposed northern SUP area would total 402 acres, and the proposed southern SUP area would total 2,905 acres.
Key Components of Tamarack’s proposed Special Use Permit:
- An expanded lift network of six new aerial lifts, including a 10-passenger, base-to-summit gondola, three detachable quads and two fixed-grip triples.
- An upgraded terrain network covering an additional 3,300 acres.
- Enhanced guest services facilities, including a year-round facility atop Lone Tree Peak that would serve as a destination for the base-to-summit gondola for both scenic lift rides and dining.
- Expanded all-season operations, including nearly 20 miles of new hiking and mountain biking trails covering approximately 980 acres.
- New recreation offerings, including a via ferrata area — a climbing route that employs steel cables, rungs and ladders affixed to rock — and a mountain coaster.
- Forest Health Projects would be carried out by Tamarack to reduce the risk of wildland fire and to improve fire resiliency on the national forest service lands of the proposed SUP area and surrounding private lands. This would entail fuels reductions in essential wildland-urban interface (WUI) zones (transition areas between wildlands and adjacent human development), including the removal of unhealthy trees, to reduce the risk of wildland fires spreading to private lands.
We’ll keep this page updated as progress continues. Please check back for additional information.
If you’d like to receive email updates about the Tamarack Land Expansion, please email us at info@tamarackidaho.com
