Tribes lose Snowbowl battle

Would artificial snow made from purified wastewater defile a mountain Native Americans hold sacred? The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider that question, essentially ending a five-year court battle over the future of Arizona Snowbowl on Flagstaff's San Francisco Peaks. The decision lets stand a lower court ruling allowing development and snowmaking at the 70-year-old ski area. Manmade snow could arrive in time for the 2010-11 season. The Navajo, Hopi, Hualapai, Havasupai and Apache tribes hold the peaks to be sacred sites and contend that plans to make artificial snow out of reclaimed wastewater will infringe on their religious freedom. The coalition of Native Americans and environmentalists including the Sierra Club that took Snowbowl's landlord, the U.S. Forest Service, to federal court in 2006, vowed to take other action, including congressional action or a direct appeal to President Barack Obama...ArizonaRepublic