White River Forest approves access road for Berlaimont Estates

White River National Forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams has approved final plans for a road across federal land to access a proposed development of luxury homes above the Eagle River Valley.

After nearly a decade of study under the National Environmental Policy Act, a lawsuit filed last year by the developers of the proposed Berlaimont Estates to force a Forest Service decision, and hundreds of protest letters from residents, politicians and environmental groups, Fitzwilliams’ final road decision is “the best balance of a safer alignment,” he wrote in his Final Record of Decision issued Friday. 

“I truly believe this meets the spirit and intent of the National Environmental Policy Act to reasonably address the purpose and need and minimize environmental and…