ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to the Loon Mountain area and the Loon Resort, and then it describes the South Mountain Expansion proposal. Loon Mountain and the Loon Resort are located along the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River in the town of Lincoln in central New Hampshire. The Loon Resort has grown incrementally over the years into a four-season resort that today is significantly different from the initial modest ski operation approved by the Forest Service to provide recreational skiing opportunities on national forest lands. As the Forest Service analyzed the proposal, concerns surfaced about the capacity of the Town of Lincoln's water treatment facilities and the impacts of the LMRC's proposed water withdrawals for snowmaking from the ecologically fragile Loon Pond, located near the summit of Loon Mountain. The Loon Mountain Recreation Corporation (LMRC) described the revised proposal as necessary to ensure a continued high-quality winter recreation experience for existing and future skiers and snowboarders.
