Mineral King is a 16,000-acre arm of the Sequoia National Forest, nestled in the high mountains of the California Sierras and surrounded on three sides by Sequoia National Park. It has been proposed as the location for a major year-round recreational complex for skiing, hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities. Walt Disney Productions of Burbank, Calif., has been wanting to develop a winter wonderland there for almost a decade. And for just about that long, various environmentalist groups of California have been fighting Disney and other interests to keep the area a wilderness. This year, Congressman John Krebs of Fresno, Calif., has introduced House Resolution 1772 to add the Mineral King Valley area to Sequoia National Park and thereby kill all plans for recreational development there. He and the environmentalists have prevailed upon Sen, Alan Cranston to enter a companion bill into the US Senate. Meanwhile, Walt Disney Productions, in an effort to come to terms with the extremists of the environmental movement, scaled down its original plans for the proposed mountain resort, and a final environmental impact statement was prepared by the US Forest Service. As The Carpenter goes to press, that environmental statement awaits a yea or nay from US Agriculture Secretary Robert Bergland. It is up to him, the Carter Administration, and the Congress, as things now stand. Organized labor of California, with local unions of the Brotherhood in the forefront, have jumped into the battle to create Mineral King. Meetings have been held in many parts of Central and Southern California, petitions have been circulated, and thousands of signatures on these petitions are intended to show Washington officials that Mineral King development is long overdue . . . and that it will not harm the surrounding environment. It will, instead, offer winter sports to thousands of Westerners crowded into the few winter resorts which now exist along the lower Pacific Coast. It will open up a natural, year-round wonderland to general public enjoyment, instead of only to mountain climbers and backpackers. It will also create jobs for hundreds of unemployed building tradesmen, and, when it is completed, it will produce jobs for 500 additional people. A petition supporting Mineral King development, now in the hands of key Congressmen and Senators, points out that "the proposal for Mineral King by the Disney Corporation has been carefully planned so as to minimize the impact of the development on the fragile mountain environment" and that "all environmental impact studies have been completed in compliance with presently existing state and federal environmental impact laws." Therefore, say ski clubs, senior citizen groups, public officials, community organizations, and trade unions, "be it resolved that the Federal government do nothing to impede, delay and in any way further restrict the proposed, planned development of Mineral King for recreational purposes." The Brotherhood supports this position. [img]Walt Disney Productions' snow survey teams lived at Mineral King throughout each winter season for more than four years, collecting data on snow and wind conditions, temperatures, stream flow, snowfall, and other environmental data.[/img] [img]Brotherhood Legislative Director Charles Nichols and Legislative Advocate Jay Power with petitions endorsing the Mineral King development, which they are sending along to Congress.[/img] [img]The alpine terrain of Mineral King is located in the northern portion of Sequoia National Forest, California. It is at the same altitude as Aspen, Colorado, and twice as high as Yosemite Valley. The surrounding mountain peaks reach as high as 12,405 feet. In summer the area is transformed into a natural playground of mountain glades, lakes, caverns, waterfalls, and pine forests.[/img]
