Navajo Nation considers purchasing Arizona Snowbowl

The Navajo Nation Council is playing it safe when it comes to negotiating buying the Arizona Snowbowl ski area, site of a proposed snowmaking operation the tribe strongly opposes.

The council voted Wednesday, Oct. 21, to add a bill to the fall session agenda that would permit the tribe to enter into preliminary stages of purchasing the ski area.

But on Thursday, the council decided to wait, and directed the bill to the Resources Committee before revisiting the issue during its spring session in 2010.

"All I am asking is maybe we table it and we will be able to work with the process to ensure it will benefit the Navajo people," said Ervin Keeswood (Tse Daa Kaan).

The bill would have asked the Navajo Nation's Land Department to secure an appraisal report, negotiate with the Snowbowl owners and purchase the area.

J.R. Murray, Snowbowl general manager, declined to comment on whether the ski area is for sale.

The owners have been quoted in news accounts saying they'll sell it if they can't prevail in the desire to use treated sewage effluent in their snow-making machines.

In an interview, Curran Hannon (Oak Springs/St. Michaels), who asked to add the bill to the council's agenda, said the owners have made their intentions known.

"It's been offered and the Navajo Nation would like to take a shot at it," Hannon said. "The Land Department will see what kind of negotiations we can get."

During his presentation, Raymond Maxx (Coalmine Canyon/To'Nanees Dizi) said Snowbowl owners have made an informal offer.

"There have been (oral) offers that have been made to the Navajo Nation," Maxx said. "They were never documented in black and white."

However, this was a sticking point with several delegates, who otherwise seemed to support the bill overwhelmingly. Delegates said tribal law dictates the Land Department can only act on purchasing land after a written offer is submitted from the owners.

"We need to get an official offer in writing," said George Arthur (T'iistoh Bikaad/San Juan/Nenanezad), chair of the Resources Committee, which would have the final say over the purchase. "That offer has to be in writing and it has to be in place in order to do this."

Along with other tribes throughout the region, the Navajo Nation has been at odds with the Snowbowl for years. It is located near Flagstaff on the San Francisco Peaks, one of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo people. Several other tribes also have significant cultural or spiritual ties with the mountain system.

During the bill's presentation, Anthony Lee, president of the Navajo Hatathli Association, said the soils from the mountain are significant for use in the medicine bundles used by medicine men.

"They are used as a prayer to the holy people," Lee said. "There is no monetary value placed on it because it is our belief and our culture."

Natural snowfall in the area varies greatly, and in most years is not adequate for the Snowbowl to stay open enough to make a profit. One plan to sustain a steady business flow is to create artificial snow, but with no fresh water supply available for that purpose, the Snowbowl wants to use reclaimed wastewater - sewage that is put through intensive filtration that attempts to mimic the natural ecosystem.

The tribes, along with environmentalists, reject the plan as unsafe and disrespectful of Native religious beliefs.

The ski area occupies 777 acres of federal land and operates under a special-use permit issued by the Coconino National Forest.

The idea of buying the Snowbowl is the latest in a long list of events that date back to March 2005 when Coconino National Forest Supervisor Nora Rasure approved the Snowbowl's expansion request. Among the improvements were production of artificial snowmaking using reclaimed wastewater and modifications to existing ski runs.

The Navajo Nation, along with other tribes and environmental groups, filed a lawsuit to stop the project, charging that the Forest Service approval violated the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act and other land and cultural protection laws.

The Snowbowl prevailed in court on that suit, but on Sept. 21, the Save the Peaks Coalition and nine citizens filed a new lawsuit based on the uncertainties of using recycled wastewater.

The suit alleges that the Forest Service, in its final environmental impact statement, ignored the possibility of human ingestion of snow made from recycled wastewater.

Maxx's bill to enable purchase of the Snowbowl came to the council as an emergency because the matter "affects the integrity of Dook'o'ooslííd, one of the sacred mountains, and therefore directly threatens the sovereignty of the Navajo Nation."

Although delegates prefaced their comments with their support of the bill, they remained cautious of the process, considering there was no documented proof that the area was for sale.

Tom Lapahe (Tachee/Blue Gap/Whippoorwill), questioned exactly what would be for sale.

"I am wondering whether the legislation is basically to purchase the ski facility," he said. "Will that include purchasing the land that it's sitting on? That needs to be clarified."

Lapahe also suggested the Navajo Nation reach out to the other tribes in the region for their input. Perhaps, he said, they would choose to invest in the venture.

It's too early to say what, if anything, the tribe would do with the site. The bill does not outline any possible scenarios beyond the purchase of Snowbowl.

Lorenzo Curley (Houck/Lupton/Nahata Dziil), asked if the purchase would simply be a land acquisition, or if it would be a business investment, in which case the tribe's Investment Committee should have a say in the matter.

Maxx said the purchase would be more of a move for self preservation.

"This is an attempt to preserve cultural value," Maxx said. "We do not want the Snowbowl facility to use reclaimed water. We need to try to stop this from happening."

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