The resorts aim to lessen the difficulty of those venues for less-experienced skiers and snowboarders.

Alta Ski Area's proposal is to widen and regrade the upper portion of Mambo, an intermediate run that descends from Germania Ridge and is reached by Collins Lift.

The resort also wants to expand the snowmaking system on Mambo and to regrade and shorten a dirt service road used during the summer, including reclamation work on the existing road that curls about the base of Ballroom bowl.

Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort wants to regrade and widen a narrow chute just below the mid-point of Chip's Run on the resort's Peruvian Gulch side. This stretch is called the "Lower Men's Downhill Chute," a name that harkens to a time when the area was used for ski races.

The resort also is proposing to upgrade utility lines buried in Peruvian Gulch, an improvement that will better support the new high-speed quad chairlift that went into operation there last season.

Forest Service approval is required for both projects. Unless public comments raise issues to the contrary, both proposals are of such a limited nature that they should not require a large-scale environmental analysis, said Salt Lake District Ranger Loren Kroenke.

To comment on either proposal, submit comments in writing or e-mail to Loren Kroenke, Salt Lake Ranger District, 6944 S. 3000 East, Salt Lake City, 84121 or comments-intermtn-wasatch-cache-saltlake@fs.fed.us.

Additional information is available from Steve Scheid, Environmental Coordinator, Salt Lake Ranger District, sscheid@fs.fed.us, or 801-733-2689.