I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3452 

To provide for the sale of approximately 30 acres of Federal land in UintaWasatch-Cache National Forest in Salt Lake County, Utah, to permit 

the establishment of a minimally invasive transportation alternative for 

skiers, called ‘‘SkiLink’’, to connect two ski resorts in the Wasatch 

Mountains, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2011 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah (for himself and Mr. CHAFFETZ) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the sale of approximately 30 acres of Federal 

land in Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Salt 

Lake County, Utah, to permit the establishment of a 

minimally invasive transportation alternative for skiers, 

called ‘‘SkiLink’’, to connect two ski resorts in the 

Wasatch Mountains, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wasatch Range Recre5 ation Access Enhancement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) There is interest in providing direct public 

4 access between the Wasatch Range front and back 

5 in the State of Utah by linking ski resorts in the 

6 area by means of a skier transport, lift, or tramway. 

7 (2) The primary ski resorts in the Wasatch 

8 Range in Utah are situated within a 5 mile radius, 

9 but currently there is no convenient transportation 

10 link between the resorts. 

11 (3) The Canyons Ski Resort and Solitude 

12 Mountain Resort have proposed a public-access 

13 transportation connection through construction of a 

14 minimally invasive transportation alternative for ski15 ers, called ‘‘SkiLink’’, which would cross approxi16 mately 30 acres of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache Na17 tional Forest from private land at The Canyons Ski 

18 Resort in Summit County, Utah, to private land at 

19 Solitude Mountain Resort in Big Cottonwood Can20 yon, Utah. 

21 (4) The land and resource management plan for 

22 Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest prohibits new 

23 alpine ski lifts on National Forest System land. 

24 (5) Despite efforts by Utah Department of 

25 Transportation, the Wasatch Front Regional Coun26 cil, and the Utah Transit Authority to increase tranVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:12 Nov 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3452.IH H3452

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1 sit and carpool access in Big Cottonwood Canyon, 

2 daily traffic on winter weekends ranges between 

3 8,000 and 9,000 vehicles per day. 

4 (6) Studies show that the establishment of the 

5 SkiLink would reduce ski-season vehicle traffic be6 tween The Canyons Ski Resort and Solitude Moun7 tain Resort by as much as 18,000 cars per year or 

8 1 million fewer miles driven per year, and the 

9 amount of the reduction is expected to increase over 

10 time. 

11 (7) SkiLink would produce immediate traffic 

12 benefits, including a reduction in PM 2.5 and other 

13 emissions in Parley’s and Big Cottonwood Canyons. 

14 (8) A preliminary environmental review of the 

15 proposed SkiLink corridor assessed the potential im16 pact to special-status species, water quality and wa17 tershed resources, and visual resources and found 

18 that no federally listed species or critical habitat 

19 would be affected and that any water, plant, and 

20 wildlife issues could be addressed through mitiga21 tion. 

22 (9) Minimally invasive, environmentally sound 

23 construction techniques would be used to construct 

24 SkiLink, including the use of helicopters for concrete 

25 placement and tower installations. 


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1 (10) The winter sport industry in Utah is a sig2 nificant contributor to the economy of Utah, with 

3 the ski/snowboarding industry bringing $1.26 billion 

4 to Utah during the 2009/2010 ski season and result5 ing in 20,000 jobs. 

6 (11) Economic analysis of SkiLink shows it 

7 would infuse another $50,000,000 a year into 

8 Utah’s economy and create 500 new jobs in the 

9 tourism and hospitality industries by creating the 

10 largest interconnected ski network in the United 

11 States and providing access to more than 6,000 

12 acres of existing ski terrain. 

13 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND, 

14 UINTA-WASATCH-CACHE NATIONAL FOREST, 

15 SALT LAKE COUNTY, UTAH. 

16 (a) CONVEYANCE REQUIRED; PURPOSE.—Subject to 

17 subsection (e), the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey, 

18 by sale, to Canyons-SkiLink, LLC, all right, title, and in19 terest of the United States in and to a parcel of National 

20 Forest System land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National 

21 Forest in Salt Lake County, Utah, consisting of approxi22 mately 30 acres, as identified on the map entitled 

23 ‘‘SkiLink Parcels, November 2011’’, for the purpose of 

24 permitting Canyons-SkiLink, LLC, to construct a ski-lift, 

25 gondola, or tramway to serve as a public-access transporVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:12 Nov 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3452.IH H3452

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1 tation interconnection of the Wasatch Front and the 

2 Wasatch Back Mountains. 

3 (b) CONSIDERATION.—As consideration for the con4 veyance of the National Forest System land under sub5 section (a), Canyons-SkiLink, LLC, shall pay to the Sec6 retary an amount equal to at least the fair market value 

7 of the land as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (c) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The 

9 fair market value of the National Forest System land to 

10 be conveyed under subsection (a) shall be based on an ap11 praisal acceptable to the Secretary. The appraisal shall be 

12 completed no later than 6 months after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act. 

14 (d) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—If the Secretary de15 termines at any time that the National Forest System 

16 land conveyed under subsection (a) has not been used for 

17 a period of 10 years or longer in accordance with the pur18 pose of the conveyance, all right, title, and interest in and 

19 to the conveyed land, including any improvements thereto, 

20 shall, at the option of the Secretary, revert to and become 

21 the property of the United States, and the United States 

22 shall have the right of immediate entry onto the land. A 

23 determination by the Secretary under this subsection shall 

24 be made on the record after an opportunity for a hearing. 


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1 (e) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary 

2 shall complete all actions that may be required under the 

3 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

5 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and all other applicable laws in mak6 ing the conveyance under this section. 

Æ 


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