NORTH CREEK -- State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Denise Sheehan has ordered an additional level of review for a plan to connect the North Creek Ski Bowl with Little Gore Mountain.
     The supplemental review will focus on the environmental impact of connecting ski trails and lifts with the Ski Bowl in coordination with a private resort development project.
     Sheehan's order is not a direct response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks by lawyer John Caffry, said Maureen Wren, a DEC spokeswoman. Rather, the review was prompted by new information presented in the course of a broader review of the project, Wren said.
     "It's a procedural action that requests more information on one aspect of the unit management plan so as not to hold up the process on the approval of the rest of the plan," she said.
     The review is not expected to delay development of the ski resort because the trail connections will be undertaken late in the construction process, said Johnsburg Supervisor William Thomas.

    "They're (the DEC) just making sure everything is done the right way," Thomas said. "I have no problem with the procedure."     
     Front Street Development plans to build a 430-acre residential and resort complex that will include a 120-room hotel, two smaller inns, condominiums, townhouses, single-family homes, a private ski lodge and an equestrian center.
     The state has committed $5.5 million toward the project.
     Peter Bauer, executive director of the Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, said it is wrong for the state to spend money on connecting trails and lifts to benefit a private development project.
     Bauer praised the commissioner for requiring the supplemental review.
     "We are grateful that the state has heard us, to some extent," he said.
     The environmental group's lawsuit claims the supplemental review is necessary because the DEC did not previously evaluate the full scope of the project.
     Bauer said he hopes the DEC will seek public reaction as part of the supplemental review process.