Colorado congressmen are taking another shot at keeping revenue from ski area fees in the local communities where resorts operate. 

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, reintroduced the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development, or SHRED Act for the third time. Bennet was joined by co-sponsor Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, and several other lawmakers in bringing it to the U.S. Senate. Colorado Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse, and Rep. Blake Moore, a Utah Republican, introduced the act in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

“The SHRED Act ensures revenue generated by Colorado’s world-renowned ski areas, stays in these rural and mountain communities,” wrote Neguse in an email, adding that the act would “keep ski fees local, reinvest in our National Forests, and support the outdoor recreation economy and critical locally-led initiatives.”

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Currently, ski resorts that operate on U.S. Forest Service land have to pay a permit fee that goes directly to the U.S. Treasury. The fees from the 124 U.S. ski resorts operating on Forest Service lands total over $40 million annually. 

However, there is no guarantee that these funds go back to the National Forests bearing the brunt of the recreational activity, which is what the SHRED Act aims to change. 

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As drafted, SHRED would establish a framework for local National Forests — including the White River National Forest where numerous Colorado resorts operate — to keep a portion of these fees to offset increased recreational use by supporting local ski permit and program administration. 

It would enable 80% of the fees to be used for needs in the forests where they’re generated, leaving 20% for other National Forests with winter or broad recreation needs. 

Within each National Forest, 75% of the funds would support the ski area program and permitting needs, to process proposals for ski area improvement projects, visitor information and wildfire preparedness. The remaining 25% will be set aside for year-round local recreation management and community needs. This includes special use permit administration, visitor services, trailhead improvements, facility maintenance, search and rescue activities, avalanche information and education, habitat restoration at recreation sites and affordable workforce housing.

If passed, the act could bring in up to $27 million for National Forests in Colorado, according to estimates from the Forest Service and information from Bennet’s office. 

The majority, around $20 million, would come from the White River National Forest where Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek Resort, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, Snowmass and Sunlight Mountain Resort all operate. 

The act has not been updated since it was brought before Congress in 2023, according to an email from Eric Jones, the deputy communications director for Bennet’s office. 

Jones added that the bill continues to have “strong bipartisan support in Congress and on the ground in states across the country with ski areas.” 

The act has garnered support from the ski industry and resort communities including the National Ski Area Association, Vail Resorts, the Colorado Association of Ski Towns, the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments and more. 

The idea behind the bill tracks back to another led by former Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner. In 2018, Gardner introduced legislation, drafted in partnership with the ski industry, to funnel a portion of the ski area permit fees directly to ski area development projects and capital improvements in the forests they occupy. Bennet was an early supporter of this bill, called the Ski Area Fee Retention Act, co-sponsoring it in 2018 and when it was reintroduced in 2019.

Then, in 2021, hoping to bolster broader support, Bennet rewrote and rebranded the legislation as the SHRED Act. In this rewrite, the use for the fees was expanded to include nonprofits and local governments as well as allow the funds to be used for all local recreation management, not just ski areas. Neguse — with Reps. An​​nie Kuster, a New Hampshire Democrat, John Curtis, a Utah Republican, and Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican — led the 2021 bill in the House.  

After passing the House, however, it failed to make its way out of the Senate. 

The lawmakers tried again in 2023 — Neguse and the same representatives reintroduced it in the House. Bennet and Barrasso brought it to the Senate. It never made it out of either chamber.

Lawmakers remain optimistic that this time the SHRED Act will stick. 

“We’re hopeful to use that momentum, the energy and coalition on the ground, and the deferred maintenance needs in forests throughout the states to propel this bill forward,” Jones stated. 
This positive momentum includes the advancement and passage of several other bills — including the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences, or EXPLORE Act — last Congress around the outdoor recreation industry, according to a spokesperson from Neguse’s office.