Bob wrote:
"L H" wrote in message

MSNBC - Out-of-bounds skiing against the law in Douglas County
Address:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6826245/

Does this mean they have outlawed backcountry skiing? Sounds a little
extreme to me. Could be great news for the ski areas though.

Bob

There is no information on the text of the law in the article and the
media is notoriously incompetent interepreting such issues, but if the
neighboring land in is Federal public land (as is usually the case),
local or state governments have no authority to regulate which uses are
and are not acceptable (mountianeering, snowshoing O.K. but skiiing,
snowboarding not O.K. --all these have significnt avalache risk). If
that is what the law actually is doing, it is unenforcable as Federal
BLM, USFS, and PS regulations supercede it.

Even the Feds may not be able to impose such a restiction as the courts
might interpret such a rule as arbitrary. An attempt of that sort was
made at Crystal Mtn. in WA. The Forest Service quickly backed down when
a couple local groups threatened court action. The Park Service is
holding on with a regulatory dodge that probably will not hold up. In
any event no Fed action can be taken without an impact statement, a
record of decision and public hearings.