Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 765) 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 is subject to ski area permits, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 765 amends the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to permit seasonal and year- round natural resource-based recreational activities that are associated with those facilities on the National Forest ski areas. Current law does not address any activities other than winter-related Nordic and alpine skiing, snow sports, and their ancillary facilities at ski areas on Forest Service land. Congress needs to pass this act to allow new activities such as climbing walls, mountain biking, alpine slides, and zip-lines to be able to be used.

The additional seasonal and year-round recreation authorized by this bill would allow the private sector to create year-round jobs, expand their wholesome outdoor recreational opportunities for American families and for visitors from overseas.

Facilities authorized by this bill will have to be in harmony with the natural environment. Furthermore, the legislation does not waive such laws as the Endangered Species Act or the National Environmental Policy Act to allow for these activities to take place. So the ski areas on the Forest Service lands are already themselves classified as developed sites. So these new activities will be in keeping with the intended use of these areas.

Finally, I would also like to thank Chairman Lucas of the Committee on Agriculture for assisting us in bringing this bill to the floor today. His cooperation on this and other issues shared with the Committee on Natural Resources is very much appreciated.

To support this understanding, I am including in the Record an exchange of letters between Chairman Lucas and Chairman Doc Hastings regarding this particular bill.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Agriculture,

Washington, DC, July 21, 2011.

Hon. Doc Hastings,

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Hastings: I am writing to you regarding H.R.

765, the Ski Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011

which amends the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986

to allow Forest Service permits to include year-round

recreational use of ski areas. The bill also amends the Act

to allow for snowboarding and other snow sports on Forest

Service lands, in addition to ski activities already

permitted.

H.R. 765 has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture,

in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources. On June

15, 2011, H.R. 765 was reported out of the House Natural

Resources Committee by unanimous consent.

It is my understanding that the Committee on Natural

Resources wishes to consider this important piece of

legislation expeditiously. Therefore, I will agree to

discharge H.R. 765 from further consideration by the

Committee on Agriculture. I do so with the understanding that

this action in no way waives the Committee on Agriculture's

jurisdictional interests in the subject matter of the

legislation nor serves as a precedent for future referrals.

Furthermore, in the event a House-Senate conference is

requested on this matter, the Committee on Agriculture

reserves the right to seek the appointment of conferees.

I ask that you insert a copy of our exchange of letters

into the Congressional Record during consideration of this

measure on the House floor.

Thank you for your courtesy in this matter and I look

forward to continued cooperation between the Committee on

Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture as we deal

with forestry issues in the future.

Sincerely,

Frank D. Lucas,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, as has been mentioned by the gentleman, this is a bipartisan bill. I urge its adoption. It's a very good bill.

I have no requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 765, ``The Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011,'' which amends the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to require the term and acreage of permits for the operation of ski areas and associated facilities on National Forest System lands to be governed by provisions under the Act relating to such permits and other applicable law. Furthermore, this legislation provides for the issuance of permits for the use and occupancy of suitable lands within the National Forest System for skiing and other snow sports and recreational uses authorized pursuant to this Act.

The Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act provides the American public with added ways to use and enjoy federally governed land. It is in a spirit of encouraging increased camaraderie, outdoor recreation and enjoyment of nature that I support providing an expanded opportunity for Americans to benefit from the natural resources in their own back yard. It is the responsibility of all Members of Congress to fulfill our moral obligation to promote harmony between Americans and the vast opportunities for outdoor recreation throughout the country. Additionally, this legislation serves to create revenue by allowing for additional permits, bolstering ski and winter recreation industries.

In the State of Texas, we have nearly 675,000 acres of public land that the U.S. Forest Service manages. This land is divided into four National Forests in east Texas and the National Grasslands in northeast Texas. Of the four National Forests, the 18th district is home to the Sam Houston National Forest. The Sam Houston National Forest consists of 161,508 acres with 47,609 acres in Montgomery County, 59,746 acres in San Jacinto County, and 54,153 acres in Walker County. The national forests in Texas were established by an act of the Texas legislature in 1933 that authorized the purchase of lands for the national forest system. These lands are operated under a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Forest Service. Fishing, trapping, and public hunting of white-tailed deer, feral hog, waterfowl, dove, other migratory game birds, squirrel, quail, rabbits, hares, predators, furbearers, and frogs is permitted. Other outdoor recreation opportunities include camping, hiking, bicycling, and wildlife viewing.

In 1960, the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act codified into law the practices that had governed the management of national forests in Texas for 30 years. This act emphasized that resources on public lands would be managed so that they are used in the combination that will best meet the needs of the people, that the benefits obtained will exist indefinitely and that each each natural resource would be managed in balance with other resources to meet present and future public needs.

Management plans outline direction for a forest under the multiple- use concept. However, even the most carefully planned system of management cannot foresee environmental or natural factors which can cause drastic changes in a forest. Fire, storms, insects and disease, for example, can alter the way a forest is managed.

H.R. 765, ``The Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011,'' provides for the issuance of permits for the use and occupancy of suitable lands within the National Forest System for skiing and other snow sports and recreational uses, highlighting the climate and recreational opportunities unique to specific regions of the nation. Since our nation's founding, we have marveled with immense pride at our vast natural resources, and this legislation serves to celebrate them.

Mr. Speaker, I regret that I was prevented from casting votes during last Monday night's session due to repeated delays of a flight from Charleston, West Virginia, to Washington. Had I been present, I would have voted in support of all three measures brought before the House--H.R. 686, H.R. 765, and H.R. 670.

The flight, originally scheduled to depart at 4:50 p.m., did not leave Charleston until after 9 p.m., more than four hours late. In that time, the airline offered numerous excuses--maintenance, delayed flights that had backed up the system. Numerous alternative departure times were put forward and then retracted. Within one four-minute span, the airline emailed four different departure and arrival times. At moments, the arrival/departure information was so confused that the airplane would have had to violate the laws of physics in order to abide by the airline schedule. This is an all too often occurrence and often maintenance delay excuses are used to cover crew issues and/or other problems.

Needless to say, all passengers were inconvenienced and the airline's explanations were wholly unsatisfactory. This flight delay prevented me from carrying out my Constitutional duty to represent the people of southern West Virginia: I feel I owe them and this body an explanation about why that was not possible last night.

I recognize that flight delays happen and perhaps at times no one is to blame. But, given how disruptive and costly delays and cancellations can be, travelers ought to be able to depend upon consistent, timely air service to all communities, even in rural areas.

Rural communities depend on air service like any other communities. It connects us to the global economy. Our businesses need to ship their goods. Our families, workers, and students need to travel. We need reliable, dependable air service. According to GAO, airports in rural communities have higher rates of delays and cancellations than airports in larger communities. That's simply not acceptable.

As the Ranking Member on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I feel acutely aware of the transportation challenges this nation faces, and as I sat in that airport last evening--like so many other passengers at that airport and others across the nation--I was frustrated by the delay, annoyed at the changing excuses offered by the airline, and angered that I was unable to get to work on time.

During all that time that I sat in the airport, I had plenty of time to think and to boil over that I was sitting there at the mercy of an airline whose veracity continued to come into increasing doubt. But I also had time to ponder our work here.

We are in a great debate in this country about our federal budget, while at the same time we are struggling to get people back to work and get our economic engine humming again. I believe that improving our transportation system has to be one of our top priorities. We need to do more to ensure the efficient transportation of people and goods. We need to stop announcing delay, after delay. We need to stop offering political excuses.

Otherwise, while we hold the future of our citizens captive, forcing them to wait and wait, we will only succeed in making them more and more frustrated and angry.

We had better get off our duffs, come together, and make some real progress on a longterm measure that will ensure improvements to our transportation system and greater safety and reliability to business and the traveling public. And we had better do it soon.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to bring this bill to the floor today. In my home state of Colorado, outdoor activities such as skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and hiking are part of our everyday lives. These activities often occur in our fantastic ski areas--many of which are located on public lands.

The Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011 clarifies the authority of the Forest Service to permit appropriate summer or year-round activities for ski areas. My bill will expand access to outdoor recreation, providing more opportunities for families to spend time outdoors. In the 2010/2011 ski season, there were over 60 million skier/snowboarder visits to American ski areas with nearly 21 million visits in the Rocky Mountain region. Providing summer recreation opportunities at already developed ski areas means winter guests will be more likely to return to their favorite spots at other times of the year. It will also provide substantial benefits to our local economies, and help create stable, year-round jobs in the thirteen states that are currently home to ski resorts on public land. The Outdoor Industry Association estimates active outdoor recreation, including activities at ski areas, contributes $730 billion to the U.S. economy annually.

Furthermore, the act makes a commonsense change to the Ski Area Permit Act by expanding permitted activities to include snow sports such as snowboarding. Snowboarding now accounts for roughly 1/3 of all ski area

visits, and the law should reflect the reality of current winter activities.

I am proud to bring this bill to the floor today with broad bi- partisan support. We have worked closely with the Forest Service to develop a piece of legislation that is amenable to all affected parties, and I urge my colleagues to support this sensible piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. SABLAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the law governing the use of Forest Service lands for ski resorts has not kept pace with the development of year- round activities at many of these sites. New legislation is needed to authorize activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking and other offseason recreational activities.

H.R. 765 will authorize the Forest Service to permit certain nonsnow sports identified in the bill while specifically prohibiting things like tennis courts, swimming pools, and golf courses. The legislation will provide this expanded authority while ensuring that only activities which encourage outdoor recreation and harmonize with the environment are permitted.

Our colleague, Representative DeGette of Colorado, sponsored this legislation in the previous Congress and successfully guided the bill to approval by the House. This is important legislation that will create jobs, and she is to be commended for her leadership on this bill.

We support H.R. 765.

I have no requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.