Overrun National Forests Prompt Action From US Congress

DENVER (AP) - It's become commonplace for counties in Colorado's high country to spend their own tax dollars to help manage national forests because the U.S. Forest Service is understaffed. Meanwhile, Colorado's ski areas spend about $25 million a year in fees to the federal treasury in exchange for being on federal land, and only a small fraction returns to those forests for management.

MAROON BELLS, CO - 2003: The mountains in the White River National Forest, are crystal clear in this spring 2003 Maroon Bells, Colorado, photo taken near Aspen. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

The Denver Post reports the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act, or SHRED Act, was recently introduced in Congress and would allow forests that bring in large amounts of ski fees to allocate some of that money for staffing.