VALLEY — A Federal Appeals Court on Tuesday dismissed the latest attempt from the developers of the Village at Wolf Creek to reinstate a land exchange rejected by a federal judge last year. 

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver granted a conservation group’s motion to dismiss the developer’s appeal, based on a lack of appellate jurisdiction.  The dismissal leaves in place the District Court’s findings, as well as the invalidation of the land exchange.   Conservation groups that have been fighting to preserve the critical wildlife corridor and undeveloped character of Wolf Creek Pass cheered the decision.

In May 2017, Senior Federal Judge Richard Matsch found that the Forest Service’s environmental analysis violated federal law and set aside the Forest Service’s approval of a land exchange that would have facilitated the construction of a large scale resort.  The order was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Rocky Mountain Wild, San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and Wilderness Workshop.

“The appeal’s dismissal leaves in place the lower court’s ruling that found the Forest Service’s analysis of environmental impacts associated with up to 10,000 people living on top of Wolf Creek Pass failed to pass muster with numerous federal laws,” said Travis Stills, an attorney with Energy & Conservation Law that represents the conservation groups. 

In July of this year the Forest Service with developer Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture (LMJV) proposed to approve another type of access for the Village at Wolf Creek.  The proposed approval was based on the possibility that the appeals court would reverse Judge Matsch’s order.  However, the appeals court determined that because the Forest Service declined to appeal the 2017 court ruling and instead was pursuing a new decision, there was nothing timely for the court to address and hence the appeal by the developers was dismissed.

“We are still waiting for the Forest Service to conduct an open, transparent and inclusive analysis of the environmental impacts associated with this enormous commercial development,” said Tehri Parker, executive director of Rocky Mountain Wild. “The Forest Service needs to do a new analysis that is not tainted by the backroom maneuverings of Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture and honestly looks at the true impacts of this decision and all options for addressing the developer’s request for access.”

The Forest Service has not stated whether it will proceed with its attempt to grant LMJV’s demand for access across the public’s forest.

“The public expects and demands compliance with America’s environmental laws by the Forest Service,” said Jimbo Buickerood with San Juan Citizens Alliance. “ The Forest Service’s intended new decision, based on the very same legally deficient environmental analysis already rejected by the courts, could be released in the coming weeks. That seems misguided and foolish to us.”

“It’s clear that the courts are telling the Forest Service that the law will not stand for the lack of substantive analysis regarding ‘Village at Wolf Creek’ impacts,” said Christine Canaly, director of San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, “allowing a road and not taking responsibility for what is built on the other side of it is a silo mindset that has outlived its relevance.”

The groups pledge continued scrutiny of the Forest Service’s compliance with its legal obligations and will encourage efforts by the agency to rebuild public trust in its review process.  The Conservation Groups were represented in this appeal by attorneys Travis Stills, Matt Kenna, and Matthew Sandler.