U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today issued the following statement highlighting the success of the snowmaking project at Arizona Snowbowl, one of the state’s top ski and snowboarding destinations located in Flagstaff, Arizona, in the Coconino National Forest:
“According to its managers, Arizona Snowbowl this year expects to top 170,000 skier visits – among its top five ski seasons in history. After a long struggle with the federal government, snowmaking is finally working there, just as many of us anticipated. During the season’s opening weeks, a thick base was laid on the slopes using about one-fifth of treated water made available by the City of Flagstaff. As a result, even with below-average natural snowfall, Arizona Snowbowl hired over 500 people and brought in an additional 50,000 visitors. With the certainty that they can now operate for an entire ski season, Arizona Snowbowl plans to re-open earlier in 2013, likely around Thanksgiving. Snowmaking has put people to work, boosted local businesses and renewed outdoor recreation on the San Francisco Peaks for everyone. I encourage all Arizonans to enjoy the remaining two weeks of this year’s snowmaking season at Arizona Snowbowl.”
The U.S. Forest Service began work on Snowbowl’s snowmaking permit over decade ago in 2002. The federal government’s environmental studies of the project cost about $1 million with Arizona Snowbowl bearing the brunt of those costs. Despite receiving Forest Service approval in 2005 and the City of Flagstaff’s treated water being certified “grade A+” by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, courtroom environmentalists waged a multi-million dollar legal and misinformation campaign to delay the project from moving forward. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a Ninth Circuit Court ruling that upheld the Forest Service’s snowmaking permit. Senator McCain took on the U.S. Department of Agriculture when the agency’s Deputy Secretaryannounced an indefinitely delay on snowmaking. Senator McCain continued to press the issue with USDA, which finally relinquished their Notice to Proceed to Arizona Snowbowl in 2010.
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