After several years of tension between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and ski industry over ski area water rights, the USFS has dropped its previous directive that would force ski areas to concede water rights to the federal government and instead issued a new, less abrasive directive.
The USFS will not require ski areas to transfer water rights to the federal government as a condition of operating on public land, rather the USFS will require ski areas to prove there is sufficient water to sustain skiing in the future.
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