60 



all members of the delegation have all stated how offended they 

 were when river runners took on our bill without any knowledge. 



And then what really offended that group was basically when we 

 sent them a letter asking for some correspondence regarding it, and 

 no one had the courtesy to respond. It is a free country. They sure- 

 ly have the right to do that. But I wasn't picking on you. Please 

 don't take it that way. I thank the panel for coming. 



And we will now turn to our last panel; Harry Mosgrove, Presi- 

 dent of Copper Mountain Ski Resort in Colorado; Mr. Tim Beck, 

 President of Sno. engineering. Well, gentlemen, you know the rules. 

 You had to sit patiently. Any problem with that? 



Mr. Mosgrove. Not at all. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Hansen. Can you both handle it in five minutes? Appreciate 

 it. Mr. Mosgrove, we will start with you, sir. 



STATEMENT OF HARRY MOSGROVE, PRESIDENT, COPPER 

 MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT, COLORADO 



Mr. Mosgrove. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the 

 subcommittee. My name is Harry Mosgrove, and I am Chairman of 

 the National Ski Areas Public Lands Committee. The National Ski 

 Areas Association represents over 600 ski areas and suppliers na- 

 tionwide. I am also president of Copper Mountain Ski Resort in 

 Colorado. Copper Mountain is located partially in the National For- 

 est Service System. I have spent the last 15 years working at and 

 managing ski area operations on Forest Service permitted lands, 

 and I feel I am familiar with the subject matter of today's hearing. 



Ski industry and national forest systems land. Before addressing 

 the specifics of H.R. 1527, I would like to make a few general com- 

 ments about the ski industry as it currently exists on public lands. 



First and foremost, I would stress that ski area operators them- 

 selves are not large businesses. Of the 132 areas operating on na- 

 tional forest system land during the past ski season, only 12 had 

 revenues exceeding $15 million. Even the nation's largest area. 

 Vail, had gross revenue in the $60 million range. This is smaller 

 than some timber firms that qualify for government small business 

 set-aside sales. 



Ski area operators on the average receive 10 to 15 cents of every 

 dollar which an out-of-state skier spends for ski vacations. Far 

 larger amounts are spent on transportation, lodging, meals, mer- 

 chandise, and other associated businesses. 



The point I am making is that ski areas are a rather small busi- 

 ness engine which drives a far larger economy. With perhaps a few 

 exceptions, most of the money which flows into ski towns does not 

 go to the ski area operator who provides the economic generator. 



The ski industry shares many things in common with farmers. 

 In some ways, we are snow farmers. In particular, our financial 

 success is directly related to the weather. If it does not snow, our 

 areas can experience absolutely disastrous years and/or incur dra- 

 matically increased costs to power snowmaking equipment. This is 

 why a 1989 study of the University of Colorado indicated that in 

 an average year, approximately two-thirds of the ski areas either 

 lose money or struggle to break even. 



It is also worth noting that ski areas are not exclusive users of 

 the land they lease, nor do they extract a resource from the land. 



