The Navajo Nation may try to buy a popular Arizona ski resort to stop snowmaking using recycled wastewater on one of the tribe’s most sacred mountains, the San Francisco Peaks.
The Navajo Nation Council voted on Wednesday to consider legislation that would allow the tribe to secure an appraisal and negotiate with the partners who own the Arizona Snowbowl outside Flagstaff.
The Navajo and several other tribes fought in court for several years to stop the Snowbowl’s plan to use reclaimed wastewater to make snow. Tribes have said the practice would desecrate the land they hold sacred and infringe on their religious beliefs. The US Supreme Court turned down the tribes’ final appeal in June, and the resort’s owners plan to begin adding the snowmaking equipment next year.
Council Delegate Raymond Maxx signed on as the primary sponsor of the legislation.
“The elders and our traditional people, they expect something to be done to stop that process, and some of us are willing to put some of our resources behind our actions,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. That would really relieve the stress and tension among our traditional folks, our elders back home.”
The council could take a final vote on the legislation later this week during its fall session.
The Arizona Snowbowl Limited Partnership purchased the ski resort in 1992 for US$4 million. Owner Eric Borowsky said late on Wednesday that it was not for sale. But he said he has an obligation as a general partner to submit any valid offers to the limited partners for a vote.
No offers have been submitted since the partnership took over ownership of the ski resort, Borowsky said.
Snowbowl officials have said the snowmaking equipment is necessary to ensure the survival of the ski area, which opened in 1937 and has struggled with short seasons because of a lack of snow.
The ski resort plans to add a fifth chair lift, spray man-made snow and clear about 40 hectares of forest to extend its ski season.
The resort operates under a special-use permit with the US Forest Service.
A pending lawsuit filed by the Save the Peaks Coalition and a group of citizens contends the Forest Service failed to consider the human health risks of ingesting snow made with treated wastewater.
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