242 



in fee determinations at any location should be a relatively small 

 part of that area's costs. 



Additionally, current regulations, CFR 215.57, Rental Fees for 

 Special Use Authorizations, require the collection of advanced and 

 periodic fee payments. Section 4(d) is not consistent with this 

 regulation. We see no reason why the ski industry should be 

 exempted from the common practice of paying, in advance, for the 

 use of property. Therefore, we recommend this provision be 

 deleted from the bill. 



Finally, we strongly recommend the bill include a mechanism for 

 updating the formula periodically- -we would suggest every five 

 years --to ensure that fees paid reflect "fair market value." This 

 could be done through appraisals of a representative sample of ski 

 areas thereby minimizing the cost and inconvenience for both the 

 industry and the Forest Service. We would work with the ski 

 industry and other interested parties to formulate a reasonable 

 and cost effective process to update such a system, which could be 

 based upon the appraisal process proposed by the Forest Service in 

 the July 13, 1995 Federal Register notice. 



We also have a number of minor, technical changes we would like to 

 see made in the bill . We would be happy to work with your 

 committee on these matt-ers. 



