NEWBURY, N.H. — A key New Hampshire agency on Thursday recommended a plan to expand the Mount Sunapee ski resort, add some of its acres to a state park and agree to ensure protection of year-round hiking on the summit trail, following nearly two years of consideration of public comments and consultation with stakeholders.

Jeffrey Rose, commissioner of the state Department of Resources and Economic Development, said the revised plan represents a balanced and responsible project that brings recreation, conservation and economic promotion together. It now goes to Gov. Maggie Hassan and the Executive Council, which could consider the proposal as early as next week.

Mount Sunapee Resort has been trying to expand for nearly two decades; the plan calls for a lift and trails. Tim Mueller, manager of the Mount Sunapee Resort, said it “balances recreation and conservation, along with economic vitality for our region and Mount Sunapee’s competitive future.”

But a group called the Friends of Mount Sunapee and others say the area faces a threat from private development.

Gary Stansfield, vice president of the group, said the plan still allows for real estate development on resort-owned private land that abuts the park.

“We feel pretty strongly that this violates the public trust, that for the state to set a precedent of allowing publicly owned land to enable gain for private resort developers is not only undesirable in this particular situation, but also sets a pretty bad precedent for other state land, other public land throughout the state,” he said.

Stansfield added that while the plan cuts back on impacts to a protected forest, “it unfortunately still allows for the lift line to cut right through the middle of this forest.”

Tom Elliott, an expansion opponent, said that for over 100 years, Mount Sunapee’s protected lands “have served a higher purpose: the preservation of nature and humanity’s quiet, gentle enjoyment of our rare and priceless remaining natural heritage. Today, the Hassan administration has begun the urgent undoing of this proud history, and has ignored the original purpose of a century’s worth of public investment in land protection.”

William Hinkle, a spokesman for Hassan, said the governor “believes that by striking the appropriate balance between conservation and recreation, this is a plan that will help ensure that we maintain the natural beauty of Mount Sunapee while supporting its role as a vital economic engine for our state.”

Another group representing business owners and residents, Citizens for Mount Sunapee’s Future, supports the plan.

“This has been a long process which included a tremendous amount of feedback between all interested parties,” said Frank MacConnell of Bob Skinner’s Ski & Sport in Newbury. “Concessions have been made by everyone to develop a constructive plan.”

The plan has 150 acres granted to the state to become part of Mount Sunapee State Park. Another 260 acres would be donated as conservation land. It protects a section known as the East Bowl, which contains old growth forest.

The plan also establishes safeguards if the nearby town of Goshen were to change its zoning within its Sunapee Recreation District. The plan notes private lands adjacent to the state park are within Goshen’s district, which doesn’t allow for residential and commercial real estate development.

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