ABSTRACT
The Federal laws such as, Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) affects the mountain resort development decisions and, in some cases, may help leverage an increased ecological perspective by decision-makers or at least lead to the improved ecological results. Congress enacted the ESA in 1973 as a means to conserve endangered and threatened species and the ecosystems they depend upon to the point where statutory protection is no longer necessary. It is evident from the subsequent South Mountain Expansion proposal, which eliminated Loon Pond as a source for water and instead proposed the construction of storage ponds to meet snowmaking needs that the CWA can influence mountain resort development decisions in important ways that may lead to better ecological results. The South Mountain Expansion decision played out under the ESA as most development projects do and did not give rise to significant issues under the Act.
