ABSTRACT
This chapter brings the case study to a close by looking at some overarching conclusions about the relationship between the law and the mountain ecosystem. The Loon Resort case study demonstrates that United States federal law does not adequately protect the mountain ecology when resort development decisions are made for lands within our national forests. NEPA introduced an action-forcing procedural framework through its requirement for preparation of environmental impact statements (EIS), which applies in this context to forest management planning and site-specific development proposals. Through its implementation of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) legal framework for analysis, the Forest Service made it part way to an ecosystem-based approach in its analysis of the South Mountain Expansion proposal. The Forest Service also set up its analysis to consider the impacts of the proposal and its alternatives in terms of many apparently useful Indicator Species and the diversity of animal and plant communities in the affected area.
