The "Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act" allows the Forest Service to retain and reinvest fees collected from ski area permits to improve ski area programs, infrastructure, and visitor services on National Forest System lands.
John Barrasso
Senator
WY
The Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act allows the Forest Service to retain and reinvest fees collected from ski area permits. These funds will be used to improve ski area program administration, reduce wildfire risk, repair and maintain facilities, and support recreational activities. This act ensures that revenue generated from ski areas directly benefits those areas and other National Forest System units. It specifies how the funds are to be distributed and prohibits their use for wildfire suppression or land acquisition.
Ski Hill Fees to Stay On-Site: New Bill Changes How National Forests Fund Improvements, Starting in 60 Days
The "Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act" is changing how money flows within National Forests that have ski areas. Instead of sending all the permit fees paid by ski areas to the U.S. Treasury, this bill creates a special account – the "Ski Area Fee Retention Account" – so the Forest Service can keep and spend that cash, and it all kicks in 60 days from whenever this bill becomes law.
Cash Flow Changes
The core of the bill (Section 2(k)) redirects where ski area permit fees go. Now, 80% of the fees collected at a specific National Forest (say, White River National Forest in Colorado) stay at that forest. Of that 80%, three-quarters (so, 60% of the total fees) is earmarked for things like managing the ski area program, processing paperwork, training staff, providing visitor info, handling the direct costs of collecting fees, and addressing wildfire risks near ski areas. The other quarter (20% of the total) can go to things like fixing up facilities, restoring habitat, law enforcement, building parking lots, processing permits, avalanche safety programs, and search and rescue. The remaining 20% of the total fees collected can be spent at any National Forest unit, on the same list of approved activities.
Real-World Rollout
Imagine a ski area in your local National Forest needs a new lift, and the parking lot is always a disaster. Under this law, the fees that the ski area pays could directly fund those improvements. Or, say there's a backlog of permit applications for guides – this bill could help speed up that process. It could also mean better avalanche safety information for backcountry skiers. However, this bill specifically says this money can't be used to fight wildfires (actual suppression) or buy new land. That funding has to come from somewhere else. The Secretary of Agriculture can adjust the 80% local allocation down to 60%, if a particular forest doesn't need all of those funds, directing the freed-up 20% to other forests, splitting it in the same 75%/25% manner for the same approved uses. So, there’s some flexibility, but it’s still all within the ski-related realm.
The Catch?
While this sounds good for ski areas and visitors, it's worth noting where the money isn't going. Wildfire suppression is a major, and growing, expense. This bill keeps those funds separate. Also, by focusing funds on ski areas, other recreational needs in National Forests might get less attention. It also explicitly states (in Section 2(k)) that this new funding supplements, not replaces, existing appropriations. So, it’s extra money, but the Forest Service still needs its regular budget. There is also mention of "cost recovery" for processing applications, which is something to keep an eye on – it could be a flag for how different interests might influence the process.