Ace Reporter Schwebke Reports on the Malan's Basin/Strongs Canyon Clearcuts

The reclusive property owner "clams up"

You asked for it... you got it. After much reader discussion on Weber County Forum over the past couple of weeks, the Standard-Examiner has finally latched onto the Chris Peterson Clearcuts story.

In this morning's Standard-Examiner report, Ace Reporter Schwebke demonstrates that he's made a noble yeoman's attempt to find out what's transpiring on Chris Peterson's mountainside Malan's Basin property, which borders Emerald City to the east. Mr. Schwebke reports that he's contacted every individual and government agency who could conceivably have an interest in the frenzied vegetation-obliterative activity which as been recently occurring in the Malan's Basin/Strong's Canyon area. Despite his efforts, Mr. Schwebke was able to dredge up very little information beyond that which our gentle readers were able to ferret out and deduce during two weeks of robust reader discussion. Nevertheless he earns an "A" for the effort, we think. Unfortunate readers who do not have a hard-copy edition of this morning's Std-Ex readily on hand can read this morning's Scott Schwebke story here:

• Trees, brush cleared near Malan’s Basin

Mr. Schwebke would have made greater headway with this story, of course, if Mr. Peterson had been more forthcoming in his telephone interview with the diligent Std-Ex reporter. Yes, Mr. Schwebke was successful in reaching Mr. Peterson; and this is what the very tight-lipped Son-in-Law of a Billionaire said:

Peterson, in a brief phone conversation with the Standard-Examiner, declined to disclose the purpose of the clearing and wouldn’t say if the aim is to make way for a road leading to a Malan’s Basin resort.
“I don’t have any comment on that,” he said.

While we suppose its possible that Mr. Peterson may regard Mr. Schwebke and the lumpencitizens of Emerald City as merely "nosy neighbors," we nevertheless can't resist observing the vast difference between Mr. Peterson's stingy present public utterances, and those heady proclamations of the year 2005, when he and Blessed Boss Godfrey were running their non-stop Emerald City Gondola/Malan's Basin Ski Resort Public Dog & Pony Show.

Mr. Peterson's feeling a mite underappreciated these days, we suppose; and we guess its understandable that he's now "clammed up."

So what say our gentle readers about all this?