STATEMENT FROM ERIC BOROWSKY, GENERAL PARTNER, ARIZONA SNOWBOWL
Regarding Today's Court Ruling

Flagstaff, AZ – March 12, 2007

After years of hard work, expense and personal hardship, the employees, skiers and families of the Arizona Snowbowl are clearly devastated by the ruling handed down today by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which in part overturns a previous ruling by an Arizona Federal Judge. The decision which ruled in favor of the (defendant) the U.S. Forest Service on four counts, but overturned the previous ruling on two of the counts. The U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Justice Department will decide whether or not to appeal this ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Even more disappointing is the fact that long standing law governing the use of America’s public lands and the intent of the U.S. Congress would no longer apply if this ruling stands. Unfortunately, once again, the NEPA process has been abused and the taxpayers of our country held for ransom by a small group of activists who believe that they personally own our nation’s public lands. If this ruling is allowed to stand, then our national policy and congressionally mandated multiple use doctrine on public lands is dead for all practical purposes. The ramification of this ruling, if left unchallenged, will be devastating to the taxpayer’s access and use of its lands.

It is beyond comprehension to me that we now live in a nation, where an Indian Tribe (White Mountain Apache) can make snow from virtually untreated sewer water, spray it on a “sacred mountain” and operate without question or environmental review. And the hypocrisy of the Hualapai Tribe building a scenic walkway at the Grand Canyon for tourism and economic development. No non-Indian permittee on public land would even consider such a project. Environmental groups would oppose any new commercial enterprise on the Grand Canyon rim but did not oppose the Hualapai. The political position of several of the Indian Tribes, with less than stellar environmental records, who are involved in this matter is nothing short of hypocritical.

Yet, when the Arizona Snowbowl follows the entire NEPA process in concert with the U.S. Forest Service and is proposing to use A+ reclaimed water that is currently used across our nation to irrigate parks, golf courses and is currently injected back into our drinking water supply. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has approved this use but a liberal court finds that we should ignore the science and regulations, the environmental history and historic health record and instead reduce opportunities for recreation and access to the public’s land.

It is my sincere desire that the U.S. Congress take immediate action to make this opinion mute and that the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Forest Service take this matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to insure that every American can enjoy our public lands. To do so will insure once and for all that radical groups who hold utter contempt for the public’s rights will no longer be able to abuse the process to achieve their ultimate goal of control of our nation’s resources.

Snowbowl intends to vigorously pursue further judicial review.

For more information about the Arizona Snowbowl, call (928) 779-1951 or visit our Web site at www.arizonasnowbowl.com.

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