A bipartisan group of lawmakers from our region want to see a new bucket of money go towards helping ski resorts.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Sen. Michael Bennett (D-CO), Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) introduced the latest iteration of the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development, or “SHRED” Act, in Congress.
Essentially, 124 ski resorts pay the feds a total of about $40 million a year to operate on public lands. That money currently goes into the U.S. Treasury’s general fund, but the SHRED Act could funnel it back locally.
The money would go to the U.S. Forest Service, which controls the ski resort land, and help pay for and train more staff to review proposed ski initiatives.
“Maybe it [would] be a replacement of a chairlift, maybe a new guest services facility or a restaurant. Perhaps a road needs re-grading that goes up the mountain,” explained Grant Colvin with the National Ski Areas Association that represents resorts and is a staunch supporter of the act.
On the other hand, Hilary Eisen with the nonprofit Winter Wildlands Alliance said ski areas should be paying for this stuff themselves, and more money should go to general Forest Service needs.
“We want to make sure that the Forest Service is stewarding the National Forest for the greater public good and not for the benefit of any corporation or any private business,” Eisen said.
Under the bill, about 75% of the funds would go to resort initiatives, and 25% would go to other Forest Service activities, like maintaining campgrounds and outhouses, things advocates say are needed amid hiring and spending freezes and greater demand on the outdoors.
“Since the Covid epidemic, the visitation has just exploded and the interest in outdoor rec has just increased, putting even more pressure on the limited resources that our National Forests have,” said Margaret Bowes who leads Colorado Association of Ski Towns, which also has members in Wyoming, Utah and Idaho.
Bowes said she’s supporting the legislation, calling it a “big win” for resort communities, though her organization had also asked for more of the money to go to general Forest Service activities.
Lawmakers in Congress have been pushing for this kind of legislation for almost a decade, though it’s never passed both chambers.
Supporters are hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act that passed in the final weeks of the Biden Administration and is slated to create new long-distance bike trails and protect climbing in wilderness areas, among other investments in the outdoor industry.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Clarification: This article was updated on Feb. 24 to clarify that the SHRED money would go to paying for and training U.S. Forest Service staff to review proposed ski initiatives, like chair lifts and restaurants. The SHRED funds would not directly fund those intitatives.
