Thanks to all of you who attended, written, and commented on the sale of potable water to snowbowl.

It was an intense meeting for sure. The auditorium had a capacity of 810 people. There must have been close to 800 in attendance. For those of you who had to leave early or didnt get a chance to join us...

There were about 9 tribal leaders, over 100 speakers, and about 6 hours of total comments. Probably the longest council meeting in the history of Flagstaff. The ones missing from the table were the USDA.

Council members, especially Coral, Celia, and Art, raised some very important questions regarding sustainability, economics, social responsibility, and the USDA subsidy.

At the end:

• The council decided to hear all public comments. It lasted until about 12:35 AM.
• The council then decided to meet Thursday at 9:30AM at the City Council chambers (City Hall- 211 West Aspen Ave).

While they will only take written comments between now and at the Thursday meeting it is REALLY important that those who oppose using drinking water for snowmaking have a strong presence in the room. When voting the city needs to see that we hold them accountable!

So, PLEASE come join us between 9:30am-12pm at the city chambers for the vote. This can be a real historical turning point for Flagstaff, where the city might actually choose a commitment to environmental integrity, social justice, and long term sustainability.

IN ADDITION PLEASE keep writing and calling the council. Snowbowl knows it is about to lose not only an 11 million dollar pay check, but also all the profits from snowmaking they were already banking on! They will do EVERYTHING they can to sway the city vote, which seemed to be opposed to snowmaking at the meeting.

FACTS:

The City of Flagstaff is projected to run out of water by 2050.

"Depending on population growth, drought, climate change, economics and a few other variables, Flagstaff might be using more water by 2027 than it gains out of lakes and wells." Arizona Daily Sun: Special Report: Roiling the waters. 3/14/10

Snowbowl would be pumping 1.5 million gallons per day, up to 180 million gallons per season.

Snowbowl doesn't drive the winter economy of Flagstaff.

"It is unrealistic to think that the Snowbowl would be a significant driver of tourism activity or the economy" - Coconino Forest Service Draft Environmental Impact Statement Page 3-121

Native American Tribes are opposed to snowmaking with 
groundwater.

Any type of snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks will tremendously offend this part of our community.

Global Warming will make skiing in Arizona less viable in the near future.

Global temperatures are expected to rise by up to three degrees Celsius in the next 50 years, melting glaciers, raising the snow line up mountains and crippling the ski industry according to a U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) study.

Snowbowl will not close if they are not able to make snow.

"Even without the proposed expansion of the Snowbowl, members of the public will continue to enjoy many recreational activities on the Peaks. Such activities include the downhill skiing that is now available at the Snowbowl." 9th Circuit Court Decision 408 F. Supp. 2d at 884.