259 



Testimony of Harry Mosgrove 



before 



the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Lands 



in support of 

 H.R. 1527 - National Forest Ski Area Permit Fee Legislation 



July 25, 1995 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, 



My name is Harry Mosgrove and I am the Chairman of the 

 National Ski Areas Public Lands Committee. The National Ski Areas 

 Association represents over 600 ski areas and suppliers nationwide. 

 I am also President of Copper Mountain Ski Resort in Colorado. 

 Copper Mountain is located partially on the National Forest System. 

 I have spent the last fifteen years working at and managing ski 

 operations on Forest Service permitted lands and feel I am familiar 

 with the subject matter of today, s hearing. 



Ski Industry and National Forest System Land 



Before addressing the specifics of H.R. 1527, I would like to 

 make a few general comments about the ski industry as it currently 

 exists on public lands. 



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

 themselves, are not large businesses. Of the 132 areas operating 

 on National Forest System Land during the past ski season, only 

 twelve had revenues exceeding fifteen million dollars. Even the 

 nation's largest area, Vail, had gross revenue in the sixty million 

 dollar 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 - 15 cents of every dollar which an out 

 of state skier spends for a ski vacation. Far larger amounts are 

 spent on transportation, lodging, meals, merchandise, and other 

 associated businesses. 



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

 business 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 

 dramatically increased costs to power snowmaking equipment. This 

 is why a 1989 study by 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. 



