The Bureau of Land Management has agreed to grant a 5-year permit to Telluride Helitrax, allowing the company to fly 300 people a year to ski some 13,611 acres north of Silverton.

The company had sought a 10-year permit to bring in 600 skiers a year and operate on 37,000 acres of BLM land.

In a press release, the BLM said that at the end of the five years, the permit would be re-evaluated for a possible increase up to a 10-year permit, and an opportunity to apply for additional service days if the 300 days have consistently been used.

The permit area includes approximately 13,611 total acres of public and private lands within eight ski pods in the Silverton area. The BLM permit does not authorize skiing on the private lands within these pods.

The agency’s Preferred Alternative “is a reasonable compromise to the proponent-proposed action,” said Richard Speegle, BLM recreation planner.

“It is a balanced approach that reflects the public interest in heli-skiing as matched with the public’s desire to engage in quiet use winter backcountry recreational activities,” Speegle said.

The alternative also keeps helicopter skiing away from existing designated Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas boundaries, Speegle said. Noise and overflights of the Silverton area and most developed private lands are avoided. Potential backcountry skier and snowmobile conflicts are also minimized under this alternative. Potential impacts to historical structures and Canada lynx areas are also avoided.

The final environmental assessment and FONSI/Decision Record are available for review online at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/sanjuan/projects/projects.shtml.