The provincial government said this week it needs more time to reach a decision on the controversial project.
The final decision was expected to be handed down today (Sept. 17), but Sustainable Resource Management Minister George Abbott and other ministers say they needed an extension to consider the full extent of the story.
Local opponents of the resort, which is located up the same drainage as Panorama Resort in a heavily glaciated area, say the project would impact grizzly bear populations, as well as take business away from more than a dozen other ski hills in the region.
The $450 million project has been in development for more than 13 years, and is still waiting for the final results of an environmental assessment. If approved, the project’s backers say the four-season resort would provide an estimated 3,750 man-years of construction employment and at least 750 full time jobs.
The proposed development area is in Jumbo Creek valley, a road-accessible basin surrounded by glaciers more than 3,000 metres high. The Farnham Glacier has already been used by skiers, snowboarders and freestylers for on-snow training during the summer months as part of a Canadian Olympic Committee pilot project.
In addition local snowmobilers and heli-ski companies already use the area during the winter.
