A coalition of environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to try and stop a land swap facilitating the expansion of the Wolf Creek Ski Area into national forest land, .
The land swap allows development firm Leavell-McComb to build a road through about 200 acres of the Rio Grande National Forest to connect the new development to the highway. In exchange, the government will receive 178 acres of private land. The lawsuit says the federal environmental impact analysis was inadequate, and the land swap, which was approved in May, would impact wildlife.
Forest officials argue that, legally, the land swap was their only option, but the Village at Wolf Creek says that the swap 鈥渙ffers an opportunity to develop a village that is unique in character compared with other ski villages,鈥 . 鈥淪pecifically, by moving the Village into the trees away from the ski mountain, it creates a place of tranquility and solitude not found at other ski areas.鈥