Suttle Lake project delayed ... again

The restaurant and a new full-service cabin opened at Suttle Lake Resort Easter weekend, but a major expansion of the resort has been delayed.

Stefani Abbott, part of the managing team of a five-owner consortium, said she's proud that the restaurant and the cabin were completed on schedule and opened Easter weekend. Winter storms left much debris from downed limbs and trees to be cleaned up before the resort could get back in action.

However, the addition of a lodge and the conversion of more rustic shelters to full-service cabins now faces a delay of at least 18 months.

The Forest Service is preparing an environmental study to determine the ecosystem impact of the resort's proposal. The Master Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) was to have been completed this past fall.

But, according to Forest Service Lands Forester Jeff Sims, that was before a region-wide lawsuit and an inter-agency jurisdictional squabble over databases stalled action on Suttle Lake Resort's Plan.

Settlement of the lawsuit intensified the depth of impact studies required within the domain of the spotted owl as specified in the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP).

According to Sims, spring and fall studies must be completed and evaluated before the report is issued. An essential component of the study is a survey of seven fungi.

"What we're dealing with here are very detailed scientific measurements," Sims said. "But besides the difficulty of the studies, there also is a shortage of professionals qualified to perform them."

Despite the delays, Abbott remains upbeat. She said she remains very busy converting the cabin and gearing up for the busy summer season. According to Abbott, the new cabin boasts kitchen and bathroom amenities lacking in the more modest 12 rustic cabins.

While summer is the busiest time of year at the resort, winter has been pretty active.

Abbott says snowmobile enthusiasts and fishermen kept the 12 cabins well used over the winter.

"This demand by people seeking a quality outdoor experience reinforces our decision to make further improvements," she said.

The plans for additional services include another full-service cabin to be ready in May.

Abbot considers the construction of the lodge simply a turning back of the clock to when the original Suttle Lake lodge was one of the vacation gems of the state.

T\hat was before it burned down...twice -- once in the 1940s and then, after it was rebuilt in the '70s.