A bill aimed at allowing more uses for ski areas on U.S. Forest Service land supported by legislators Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, passed the House on Monday.
Tipton advocated for the bill while serving on the House Agriculture Committee.
By allowing the forest service to expand use, this bipartisan bill will open up new opportunities for Colorados ski areas, increasing tourism while creating jobs for our rural mountain communities, Tipton said in a written statement from his office. I applaud Rep. Rob Bishops (R-Utah) work on this common sense legislation and also the work of my Colorado colleagues Rep. Dianna DeGette (D-Colo.) in the House and Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) in the Senate.
If the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law by the president, it will expand the definition of activities allowed at a ski area from Nordic and Alpine Skiing, to Skiing and other snow sports and recreational uses.
Udall has long advocated for the legislation as a means to boost tourism.
My bill would help the mountain communities create jobs and boost their economies while creating more recreational opportunities for Coloradans to visit the mountains, Udall said in a written statement from his office. Its time for the Senate to follow the Houses lead and pass my bill on the floor.
The bill also expands uses to off-season activities, such as zip lines, mountain bike terrain parks, disc golf courses, ropes and ropes courses.
Not all summer activities are welcome on public land under the legislation, however. The bill would specifically ban tennis courts, water slides, water parks, swimming pools, golf courses and amusement parks.
Reach Reid Wright at [email protected].