Forest Service - Little Assurance That Fair Market Value Fees Are Collected from Ski Areas: Rced-93-107 (Paperback)

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) whether the Forest Service's graduated rate fee system (GRFS) generates fair-market value fees for ski resorts operating on its land; (2) whether a ski industry-developed fee system would collect fair-market value fees; and (3) how the ski industry's fee system compares with GRFS. GAO found that: (1) GRFS does not ensure that the Service receives a fair-market value return for the use of its land, since the Service has not adjusted GRFS rates to reflect changes in economic conditions; (2) the ski industry's fee system does not ensure that collected fees reflect fair-market value, since the industry has designed its system to generate total fees comparable to collections under GRFS; (3) the ski industry's system is simpler and based on a ski area's overall gross sales; (4) most of the ski area permittees favor the industry's system because of its simplicity; and (5) the industry's system would reduce administrative costs, accounting and auditing workloads, and fee assessment appeals.