The Trappers Lake Group, the Northwest Colorado chapter of the Sierra Club, formally announced its opposition to the proposed Stagecoach Mountain Ranch development last week, warning of threats to local water sources and wildlife habitats.

Stagecoach Mountain Ranch, a planned 6,100-acre private ski area south of Steamboat Springs, would be among the few exclusive ski developments of its kind worldwide if approved. 

Beyond the ski area, the development proposal includes 613 luxury homes alongside 137 workforce housing units, with 95 marked for affordable housing accessible to the public.

In the statement, the Trappers Lake Group referred to Discovery Land Company’s plan “to use recycled effluent in snowmaking for the ski area,” adding that the company is “pursuing a change in Colorado water regulation in order to do that.”

The group also pointed to Discovery Land Company’s record of building elite private communities globally, referencing the book “Billionaire Wilderness,” which has become a touchstone among critics of the project.

“Often, these developments are responsible for major environmental degradation,” the Trappers Lake Group wrote in the statement. “The Cottonwood Environmental Law Center in Montana is suing the Yellowstone Club for knowingly discharging its treated sewage into the South-West Fork of the Gallatin River without a permit. Golf course runoff at other (Discovery Land Company) developments, such as Baker’s Bay Club in the Bahamas, has damaged coral reefs.”

“Because of environmental concerns related to water, transportation, wildlife, nearby public lands and energy, as well as socioeconomic impacts and harms to community character,” the statement continued, “the Trappers Lake Group of the Sierra Club is joining other environmental and concerned citizen groups in Routt County to oppose this development.”

Last month, the Steamboat Springs City Council echoed these environmental concerns, submitting a unanimous letter of opposition to Routt County that also raised issues like increased traffic congestion, impacts to local airports and repercussions to the community’s character.

Kyle Collins, Discovery Land Company’s vice president of architecture and planning responded to the local Sierra Club’s chapter in an email sent Monday evening.

“The proposed Regulatory 84 changes would create an additional use for highly treated effluent, giving wastewater utilities an alternative to discharging their effluent directly into lakes, reservoirs, streams, and rivers.  If snowmaking becomes an authorized reclaimed water use, wastewater districts may implement this more sustainable alternative,” added Collins.

“The pending land use application for Stagecoach Mountain Ranch (SMR) provides that the currently proposed water supply for snowmaking will be raw water from Stagecoach Reservoir leased from Upper Yampa Water Conservation District per our “will serve” letter, not treated effluent,” he wrote.

The Routt County Planning Department officially accepted 11 applications submitted by Discovery for its Stagecoach Mountain Ranch project in early September.

At full buildout — expected to take approximately 15 years — the company proposes to employ around 250 full-time employees and 500 part-time employees, according to projections available on Discovery’s website for the proposed development.

Public hearings for Stagecoach Mountain Ranch are slated to begin early next year. Residents may submit comments ahead of the hearings at tinyurl.com/4w89vm42 or by emailing PlanningDept@co.routt.co.us.