ASPEN (AP) - Ski areas in the White River National Forest paid a record high amount of federal fees for use of public lands last year.
The Aspen Times reports that the resorts paid just under $18 million during the U.S. Forest Service's fiscal year 2015, an increase of 12.5 percent over the previous fiscal year.
White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams says ski areas paid heavily last year and that receipts from ski area fees have shot up dramatically in the past few years. The fees collected in 2015 were about 45 percent higher than in fiscal year 2010.
The money collected goes to the U.S. Treasury. It isn't kept it the White River National Forest.
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