Replying to Kootenays ski resort clears one hurdle

This is near Invermere, old stomping ground.

Province gives environmental green light




VICTORIA - A controversial $450-million ski resort in the Kootenays has been given environmental approval by the provincial government.


The Jumbo Glacier Resort in the Purcell Mountains west of Invermere would be a year-round ski and recreation facility.


Sustainable Resources Minister George Abbott says the environmental approval is only one step in a longer road to developing the resort.


He says developers now have to obtain municipal permits and put together a master development plan.


The original development plan covered an area about one-third the size of Whistler's ski resort.


However, the developer reduced the footprint by 60 per cent to cut the impact on the more than 150 grizzly bears in the area.