Andy Wirth Wants Us To Believe He Knows John Muir Better Than The Sierra Club

Just when you think things can’t get any more bizarre, it does. Two weeks ago, we published a copy of a  letter written to Andy Wirth, Squaw Valley CEO, by the Sierra Club. The notion was simple, that Wirth should stop using John Muir’s name in support of Squaw Valley and KSL Capital’s overdevelopment plans in Lake Tahoe. That article was the third most popular article ever published at Unofficial Alpine, so we know it struck a chord with people that care about the future of the Tahoe region.

Today, the Reno Gazette Journal also covered the Sierra Club’s issue with Squaw Valley’s use of John Muir’s legacy. They’re a little behind the game on keeping up with the news. It’s our guess that it was Wirth that asked that they cover the issue. His comments in the article are difficult to describe, although the word delusional does come to mind. As the Gazette-Journal notes, Wirth is not backing down, instead “he’s doubling down.”

“Muir, who vehemently opposed the conversion of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park into a reservoir for San Francisco, would likely see the upgrades proposed at Squaw Valley as a plus for the region.”  – Andy Wirth, Squaw Valley CEO

Wirth tries hard to paint a positive spin on the proposed development by noting that a significant number of acres of parking and existing structures will be redeveloped, and that a channelized Squaw Creek will be restored to a more natural state. He fails to mention that development will also push into Shirley Canyon, or the construction of a 90,000 square foot indoor water park, or the far reaching impacts of the development to the entire North Tahoe and Truckee region. Is it just us, or does Wirth begin to sound like a narcissistic used car salesman in selling us the Village project?

While noting that Squaw has made some positive efforts at environmental change under his leadership, they pale in comparison to the massive overdevelopment proposals impacts. The proposal received more than 350 public comments during the draft Environmental Impact Report comment period, of which roughly 97% were not supportive. He fails to note that a resort that was truly sensitive to the needs of the environment would voluntarily undertake things such as the restoration of Squaw Creek, without holding the community hostage by linking the project to the overscaled development proposal.

Wirth claimed that he had “studied Mr. Muir’s works since I was young” and again reminded RGJ readers that he was a wilderness ranger and his grandfather Conrad Wirth was the Director of the National Park Service in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. We noted last May that Grandfather Wirth left the NPS after the the unpopular “Mission 66” failed. Mission 66 hastened the advent of environmentalism by creating concern that the NPS was overdeveloping parks while failing to take other steps to preserve wilderness areas.

In trying to assess Wirth’s activity as a wilderness ranger, the search has become more difficult. When we last researched the idea a year ago, it was difficult to find much of anything about his work. To his credit, it was likely during “pre-Internet” times. But in the last year, thanks to an astroturfing effort by Wirth’s PR team, dozens of articles now turn up noting Wirth’s history as a wilderness ranger. The articles appear on some very authoritative sites such as “daveanddarren.com” and “loveayumi.com.” Don’t believe us? Try this Google search: “Andy Wirth wilderness ranger”.

The reality is, there are huge parts of the Lake Tahoe, northern California and northern Nevada communities that are opposed to the proposed development at Squaw Valley. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there that have no idea what far reaching impacts that development will bring. They will be more than happy to support Andy’s dream. It’s critical that we take a stand as a community to say that the development proposals being pushed by Wirth, the Village at Squaw Valley project and the proposed Base To Base Gondola project are not what we want, or what we need, in Lake Tahoe. When it’s clear that Andy Wirth and KSL Capital won’t consider “no” as possible answer, it’s time to keep Tahoe KSL free. We’ll continue to stand by the Sierra Club and Sierra Watch as the people that truly support the best interests of the Lake Tahoe environment.