Cooper Spur ski area is a ski area located on northeast Mount Hood

Mount Hood

Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The resort has one double chair ski lift

Ski lift

The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...

 serving ten runs, and a vertical drop of 110 meters (350 ft). There are 6.5 kilometers of cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

 trails. The uphill capacity of the lift is 1200 skiers per hour, and the summit rises to 1,326 meters (4350 ft). The resort encompasses 0.2 km² (50 acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s) of terrain, and receives an average of 2.5 meters (100 inches) of snow

Snow

Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...

 per year.

Cooper Spur Mountain Resort has 3.1 km² (775 acres) of forest on which condos, log cabins, a restaurant, and a hotel are located.

Expansion

In the summer of 2001, Cooper Spur was purchased by an affiliate of Mount Hood Meadows named Meadows North LLC, and announced its intention to develop the Cooper Spur area as a year round destination resort with additional lifts, runs, and accommodation. A July 18, 2001 proposal included developing a golf course, 450 housing units, a conference center, ice rink, swimming pool, amphitheater, shopping mall, and other developments. The development was opposed by groups which favor preserving and expanding wilderness areas of northern Mount Hood. Other concerns include potentially disrupting a key elk migration route, watershed disruption for two thousand nearby residents, and deforestation.

A controversial land swap was concluded with Hood River County by Meadows North LLC which increased the acreage adjacent to Cooper Spur owned by Meadows North LLC.

In the summer of 2002, the decades-old T-bar lift

T-bar lift

A T-bar lift, also called T-bar, is a mechanised system for transporting skiers and snowboarders uphill, along the surface of the slope...

 was replaced with a double chair, and excavation work created a tubing

Tubing (recreation)

Tubing is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as "donuts" or "biscuits" due to their shape.-Water:Tubing on water generally consists of two forms: towed and free-floating, also...

 area.

After Meadows North LLC abandoned its initiative to develop Cooper Spur, a proposal was made to trade Cooper Spur's facilities, existing 770 acres (3.1 km²), and its special-use permit

Special-use permit

A special use permit is a US term, which allows a specific exception to the zoning regulations from a list of acceptable exceptions for a particular parcel of land in a district of a particular zoning character...

 which authorizes 1350 acres (5.5 km²) of development in exchange for 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) of Forest Service land near Government Camp

Government Camp, Oregon

Government Camp is an unincorporated community located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, south of Mount Hood and north of Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain. It is a gateway to several ski resorts, the most popular being Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood Skibowl. Also, Government Camp has its...

. The proposal became a provision of House Bill 5025 [109th] (Mount Hood Stewardship Legacy Act) and passed the House, but expired without senate approval. According to a GAO

Gao

Gao is a town in eastern Mali on the River Niger lying ESE of Timbuktu. Situated on the left bank of the river at the junction with the Tilemsi valley, it is the capital of the Gao Region and had a population of 86,663 in 2009....

assessment, the value of lands were not appraised equivalently and probably not fairly.