Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce the Inyo National Forest Land Exchange Act. This legislation will facilitate a land exchange between the operators of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in the Eastern Sierra Nevada region of California and the Inyo National Forest. Enactment of this bill will allow the ski resort to redevelop the parcel of land it currently leases from Forest Service, while providing the Forest Service with a combination of high resource value lands and a cash payment equal to the value of the exchanged land. Since the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, LLC, MMSA, began operations in 1953, Mammoth Mountain has grown to be one of the most popular ski areas in the United States, attracting up to two million visitors a year. However, the Main Lodge area, which is located on approximately 21 acres of land leased by MMSA, has become outdated and inadequate to meet visitor needs. The Main Lodge building and Mammoth Mountain Inn are now more than 50 years old and require significant improvements and upgrades. Insufficient employee housing, parking and guest amenities must be corrected and skier staging and lift line queuing areas must be modernized. In order to make the necessary long-term investments, resort operators are seeking fee title to the land and have been working with the Inyo National Forest since 1998 to complete a land exchange. Equal-value land exchanges involving Forest Service land are permitted under the Exchange Act.…”