II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2476 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2010 

Received 

AN ACT 

To amend the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 

to clarify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture 

regarding additional recreational uses of National Forest 

System land that are subject to ski area permits, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ski Area Recreational 

3 Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to amend the National 

6 Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 497b)— 

7 (1) to enable snow-sports (in addition to nordic 

8 and alpine skiing) to be permitted on National For9 est System land, subject to ski area permits issued 

10 by the Secretary of Agriculture under section 3 of 

11 the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 

12 (16 U.S.C. 497b); and 

13 (2) to clarify the authority of the Secretary to 

14 permit appropriate additional seasonal or year-round 

15 recreational activities and facilities on National For16 est System land, subject to ski area permits issued 

17 by the Secretary under section 3 of the National 

18 Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 

19 497b). 

20 SEC. 3. SKI AREA PERMITS. 

21 Section 3 of the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act 

22 of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 497b) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘nordic and 

24 alpine ski areas and facilities’’ and inserting ‘‘ski 

25 areas and associated facilities’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

2 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘nordic and alpine skiing 

3 operations and purposes’’ and inserting ‘‘skiing and 

4 other snow-sports and such other seasonal or year5 round recreational activities associated with moun6 tain resorts as the Secretary may authorize pursuant 

7 to subsection (c)’’; 

8 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

9 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; 

10 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(c) OTHER RECREATIONAL USES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—Subject to 

14 paragraphs (2) and (3), the Secretary may authorize 

15 the holder of a ski area permit issued pursuant to 

16 subsection (b) to provide on National Forest System 

17 land subject to the ski area permit such other sea18 sonal or year-round natural resource-based rec19 reational activities and associated facilities or im20 provements (in addition to skiing and other snow21 sports) as the Secretary determines to be appro22 priate. 

23 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any activity, facility, or 

24 improvement authorized by the Secretary under 

25 paragraph (1) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) encourage outdoor recreation and en2 joyment of nature; 

3 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, harmonize 

4 with the natural environment of the National 

5 Forest System land on which the activity, facil6 ity, or improvement is located; 

7 ‘‘(C) to the extent practicable, be located 

8 within the portions of the ski permit area that 

9 are developed to support skiing and other snow 

10 sports; 

11 ‘‘(D) be consistent with the applicable for12 est management plan and all other applicable 

13 laws; and 

14 ‘‘(E) be subject to such terms and condi15 tions as the Secretary determines to be appro16 priate. 

17 ‘‘(3) NO CHANGE IN PURPOSE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE TEST.—The Secretary may 

19 not authorize an activity, facility, or improve20 ment under paragraph (1) if the Secretary de21 termines that the authorization of the activity, 

22 facility, or improvement would result in the pri23 mary recreational purpose of the National For24 est System land subject to the ski area permit 


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1 to be a purpose other than skiing or any other 

2 snow-sport. 

3 ‘‘(B) REVENUE TEST.—To ensure that 

4 National Forest System lands subject to a ski 

5 area permit continue to be used predominately 

6 for skiing and other snow sports, the Secretary 

7 may authorize an activity, facility, or improve8 ment under paragraph (1) only to the extent 

9 that the majority of the revenue of the ski area 

10 is generated by the sale of lift tickets and fees 

11 for ski and other snow-sport rentals, skiing and 

12 other snow-sport instruction, ski trail passes for 

13 the use of trails maintained by the permit hold14 er, and ancillary facilities related to the oper15 ation and support of skiing and other snow16 sport activities. 

17 ‘‘(4) BOUNDARY CHANGES.—When determining 

18 the boundary of a ski area permit under subsection 

19 (b)(3), the Secretary shall not consider the need for 

20 activities other than skiing and other snow-sports. 

21 ‘‘(5) EFFECT ON EXISTING AUTHORIZED AC22 TIVITIES AND FACILITIES.—Nothing in this sub23 section affects any activity or facility authorized by 

24 a ski area permit in effect on the date of enactment 


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1 of this subsection during the term of the permit.’’; 

2 and 

3 (5) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para4 graph (3))— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘Within one year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘Not later than 18 months after the date 

8 of enactment of the Ski Area Recreational Op9 portunity Enhancement Act of 2010, the’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘within 3 years of the date 

11 of enactment of this Act’’. 

12 SEC. 4. EFFECT. 

13 Nothing in this Act (including the amendments made 

14 by this Act) affects— 

15 (1) any authority of the Secretary of Agri16 culture (including the authority of the Secretary 

17 with respect to recreational activities or infrastruc18 ture located on National Forest System land) under 

19 any Federal law (including regulations) other than 

20 the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 

21 (16 U.S.C. 497b); and 

22 (2) any duty of the Secretary under the Na23 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

24 4321 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 5. STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO LANGUAGE. 

2 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

3 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

4 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

5 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

6 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

7 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro8 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

9 vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 30 (legislative day July 29), 2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 

By ROBERT F. REEVES, 

Deputy Clerk. 


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