Idaho to Decide on Ski Resort Lease

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Tamarack Resort could take a significant step toward a clearer financial picture Thursday when Idaho officials decide whether to transfer a ski area lease to a new company that emerged after a sheriff's bankruptcy sale last spring.

But first a majority of the five-member Idaho Land Board will have to be persuaded at the special meeting that Tamarack can afford about $278,000 annually to use the 2,100 acres of state-owned land the ski area is built on. The lease represents one of the state's more lucrative deals.

It's far more than the estimated $80,000 annually the land would generate if it reverted to timber harvest. Patrick Hodges of the Idaho Department of Lands says he doesn't anticipate problems, and that the state has an interest in seeing a successful resort.