Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act
S. 472, the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act, would amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to create a new Ski Area Fee Retention Account in the U.S. Treasury. The Forest Service (Agency of the Department of Agriculture) would deposit ski area permit rental charges into this account and use the funds to support a range of ski-area related activities without additional annual appropriation. The funds are intended to be locally available for up to four fiscal years from the date of deposit, with a specified split between local (unit-level) and agency-wide uses, and a mechanism to shift funds to other National Forest System units if local needs are met. The bill also places limits on what the funds can be used for (notably excluding wildfire suppression and land acquisition) and clarifies that the new funding is supplemental to, not a replacement for, existing appropriations and cost-recovery authorities. In short, the bill creates a dedicated, self-contained funding stream for ski-area related administration, maintenance, safety, and recreational management within the National Forest System, intended to improve efficiency and service at ski areas while avoiding reduction in other funding streams.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of the Ski Area Fee Retention Account: A new special Treasury account funded by ski area permit rental charges collected by the Forest Service (Secretary of Agriculture) to be used for ski-area related activities.
- 2Local vs. agency-wide distribution: 80 percent of deposits from a covered unit are allocated locally (75% for approved local activities; 25% for other local activities), and 20 percent goes to agency-wide expenditures across the National Forest System for similar eligible activities.
- 3Flexibility and transfers: If local needs are met, the Secretary can reduce the local share to as low as 60 percent. Any remaining funds from a covered unit can be made available for expenditure at other National Forest System units, with a 75/25 split between local-use-like activities and broader activities.
- 4Eligible expenditures: Funds may be used for administering the Forest Service ski area program (including processing new ski areas or improvements, staffing, and permits), staff training, interpretation and visitor services, direct costs of collecting ski-area fees, wildfire planning and risk reduction (excluding hazardous fuels-focused wildfire suppression), facility repair/maintenance/enhancement related to visitor enjoyment and safety, habitat restoration, law enforcement, parking, permit administration, avalanche information and education, search and rescue, and administration of related leases.
- 5Limitations: Funds may not be used for wildfire suppression or for acquiring land for the National Forest System.
- 6Legal framework and supplementation: The bill states that the ski-area charges retained and expended under this section supplement (not supplant) existing appropriations, and does not affect the Granger-Thye Act’s applicability to ski areas. It preserves existing cost-recovery rules for processing or monitoring ski-area permits and related recreation permits.
- 7Effective date: The section would take effect 60 days after enactment.