Under direction of the US Forest Service (USFS), VESTRA was contracted by the Aspen Skiing Company to produce draft Environmental Impact Study (EIS) maps for Snowmass within two months. VESTRA worked under the authority of USFS staff with the Aspen Skiing Company and with other consultants responsible for planning, biology, geomorphology, wetlands, and GPS.

VESTRA generated more than 30 analysis reports and 20 maps for each of eight alternatives the USFS then used to produce a Record of Decision for the Snowmass EIS. GIS was a critical tool that enabled the USFS to reach an equitable decision for all parties concerned with the Snowmass Ski Area. According to one news report, the resulting USFS decision was a “model of Solomonesque compromise.”

Following completion of the draft EIS, the USFS approved VESTRA as the GIS contractor to complete mapping and analysis for the final EIS, to begin GIS and vegetation classification work on the Aspen Highlands EIS, and to develop a GIS database and orthophotography for the Tiehack Ski Area.

For the Aspen Highlands area, VESTRA created a digital color infrared orthophotograph with a 2m resolution using ERDAS software. Using a combination of field observations, conventional photography, and orthophotography, VESTRA classified the complex vegetation types into ten classes and four seral stages with a half-acre minimum polygon size.