The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment on a proposal addressing water provided for ski areas on national forest lands through the permitting process.
Ski areas, which cover some 180,000 acres of national forest lands, average 23 million visits annually. Those visits contribute $3 billion every winter in direct spending to local economies and create approximately 80,000 full and part-time and seasonal jobs in rural communities.
The 122 ski areas operating on Forest Service-managed lands do so with special-use permits with a 40-year term. As permits end their term, the agency proposes an update that would provide assurances that sufficient water rights remain with the ski area permit for snowmaking and other essential operations even if the ski resort is sold, but without requiring ski areas to transfer water rights to the Forest Service. Currently, the policy requires the public hold the rights to that water. The proposed change would allow water rights to be in the name of the Special Use term permit holder (in this case, the ski area), with the commitment that adequate water stay dedicated to the ski area operation. The proposed change is based on public comments and discussion from a series of meetings conducted by the Forest Service in 2013.
The Federal Register Notice for the proposal was made available for public inspection on Friday June 20, 2014. (Read here.) The public has 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register to comment on the proposal.
In the future, more ski areas will need to rely on water for snowmaking, as well as water supplies for base and lodging facilities. The agency’s 40-year permits, almost always renewed with the current holders, according to the agency, and the permits “will ensure the public has the necessary assurances that ski areas will continue to operate to justify this long-term commitment of the public’s land to skiing.”
“Chair lifts can be replaced and lodges can be rebuilt, but once the water necessary for ski area operations is no longer available, the public loses opportunities for winter recreation,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “The economic effects of the loss of water may be far reaching. This issue has implications far beyond the boundaries of ski areas.”