SUMMIT COUNTY - The U.S. Forest Service has proposed temporary new rules on public lands advertising and sponsorships that would specifically authorize the use of ads on chairlift safety bars and within ski area lodges and restaurants on national forest lands.

The existing Forest Service ad policy was scrutinized two years ago, when the agency authorized what was described as a pilot project at the four Aspen Ski Co. areas, permitting a local businessman to try out his Map Link system on resort chairlifts.

Dubbed as lap-maps, the plastic panels on the safety bars featured a trail map flanked by commercial ads for beer and local health spas.

Not everyone was happy about the arrangement, including some longtime Forest Service rangers, who charged that it was the first drop in what could become a flood of unwanted outdoor advertising and who argued that the relatively pristine outdoor setting at ski areas should be preserved.

A national agency task force has been working on a revision of the rules for several years. An interim directive was posted in the Federal Register Nov. 25, and the agency is taking public comments on the proposed changes through March 27, 2006.

The idea is for concessionaires to promote public service messages regarding the management of national forest lands, said Carolyn Holbrook, of the agency's national recreation and heritage office. But since it costs money to get those messages out, advertisers will be invited to sponsor the information, she said.

Specifically, the rule revision allows "concessionaires to advertise products and services inside buildings and other interior spaces they own, including chairlift restraining bars facing the rider."

A new section added to the regulations encourages cooperative relationships and sponsorships that involve public services, evaluate solutions to specific natural resource management problems or promote conservation awareness or public health and safety.

As currently worded, the new rule suggests that commercial advertisers could tout a particular brand of sunscreen, as long as there is a message pertaining to the health and safety benefits associated with the display. The rule also requires that such advertising displays have a written plan describing the duration, outcome and target audience. There is also a provision for waiving the ban on outdoor ads for short-term special events.

It's unclear how the changes will play out at Summit County's ski areas. In some ways, the existing policy has been tightened and clarified, but in other ways, it appears that what was once an outright ban on outdoor ads has been loosened to some degree.



Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.