Mammoth Mountain Goes
MAMMOTH
“This is
about jobs!” Cook states.
WASHINGTON D.C. ___ Friday, President Obama
signed into law Representative Paul
Cook’s Mammoth Mountain Land Exchange. The original bill, HR 1241, passed the
House of Representatives by voice vote in December, 2013. The measure was
ultimately put into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was
signed into law today. The Land Exchange allows the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area to obtain
the 21 acres surrounding the Mammoth Mountain Inn. This land is currently
leased from the National Forest Service. In exchange, the National Forest
Service would receive from the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area over 1,500 acres of
valuable wilderness along with a monetary offset.
Cook stated, “This is about jobs. The land exchange will allow
Mammoth Mountain to start construction, creating jobs to rebuild the Mammoth
Mountain Inn. The new construction on the Inn will help facilitate not only new
construction jobs during renovation, but will allow the ski area to expand,
creating more permanent jobs.”
A member of the House Veterans’ Affairs, Armed
Services, and Foreign Affairs Committees, Cook served as an infantry officer
and retired after 26 years as a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. During his
time in combat, he was awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.