182 



3 



1 (5) Many ski areas on National Forest System 



2 lands operate in an extremely competitive environ- 



3 ment with similar facilities located on private or 



4 State lands, which requires ski area permittees to 



5 maintain a high level of capital investment to up- 



6 grade existing facilities and install new facilities 



7 (such as lifts, trails, snowmaking and trail grooming 



8 equipment, restaurants, and day care centers) to 



9 serve the public. 



10 (6) Despite an outward appearance of economic 



11 well-being resulting from an intensive capital infra- 



12 structure, many ski area operations are marginally 



13 profitable due to the competition and capital invest- 



14 ments referred to in paragraph (5), weather condi- 



15 tions, insurance premiums, the national economy, 



16 and other factors be^^ond the control of the ski area 



17 permittee. 



18 (7) Because of the contributions of ski areas to 



19 the economies of the United States and the rural 



20 communities in which they are located, and the en- 



21 hanced use and enjoyment of National Forest Sys- 



22 tem lands resulting from ski areas, it is in the na- 



23 tional interest for the United States, where consist- 



24 ent with national forest management objectives, to 



25 take actions to promote the long-term economic 





