The comment period on the proposed gondola that would link Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts has been extended.

This is because the U.S. Forest Service and Placer County have decided to do one environmental document. A revised notice of preparation has been created. The deadline to comment on it is Oct. 3. Here is the new document.

For decades there has been talk of combining the resorts. One of the main stumbling blocks has always been the private landholding. An agreement was reached with Tony Caldwell in April 2015 to have the towers erected on his land near the Granite Chief Wilderness Area.

Building anything so close to a wilderness area is one of the more controversial aspects of the project. While the gondola is designed to only operate during the winter, the towers would always be there. The eight-person cars would be detachable.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report