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Ski resorts pay little for national forest use Staff and wire reports SAN JOSE, Calif. - Ski resorts nationwide rake in millions of dollars annually off those who come to play in the snow, but many of those popular areas pay little for using the slopes on federal land, a newspaper reported Sunday. More than 100 ski resorts rely on national forests, but they pay only about 2 percent of revenue for access, according to a San Jose Mercury News investigation. Government reports have called for increased fees for the past 20 years, but in places like Sugar Bowl Ski Resort at Lake Tahoe, it cost the business less than a cent for every dollar earned in revenue last year. That's $97,363, or 0.97 percent, of its approximate $9.9 million in gross revenue, the Mercury News reported. "This is the public's land," said Keith Ashdown, spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based Taxpayers for Common Sense. "One or 2 cents on the dollar to rent is just ridiculous." Nationally, the 136 ski resorts that operate on federal lands paid $19.9 million, or 2.28 percent, to the government in 1998 despite having gross revenues of $874 million, the newspaper found. The Mount Ashland ski area paid $21,756 (1.5 percent of its gross revenue of $1.45 million) last year for the use of Rogue River National Forest land. The ski industry says many elements, including unpredictable weather and environmental laws, factor into making profit margins less than 10 percent most years. "There aren't a lot of people getting rich," said Mike Hinrichs, president of Boreal Ski Area at Lake Tahoe. Others argue that the national forestland would be virtually worthless without the business the resorts draw. "Vail is Vail because of the industry," said Geraldine Link, spokeswoman for the National Ski Areas Association in Lakewood, Colo. "It started out with bare land. It has value because of the industry, not because of the Forest Service. Nine resorts paid less than 1 percent for each dollar in revenue, including Utah's Snowbasin, which was used for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Sixty-seven resorts paid less than 2 percent. Ski resorts rent areas from the Forest Service on 40-year leases, and they operate on 178,000 acres of federal land in 15 states. In 1996, Congress revamped the fee system but collected less from the ski resorts than before, the newspaper found. The payment scheme was based on lift-ticket sales, lessons and other money collected from use of the land. Resorts with sales totaling less than $3 million paid 1.5 percent; from $3 million to $15 million, between 2.5 percent to 4 percent. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.