What was left of SB217, the Cannon Mountain lease bill, has died in the Legislature after the Senate disagreed with an unrelated amendment the House tacked on the bill last month.
The final version of the bill called for the creation of a hiking corridor over Mittersill and on to the summit of Cannon. The lease, master plan and veterans memorial aspects of the bill were stripped from the measure last month while it was in the House.
Thank you for your support, email, letters and phone calls to state lawmakers. We're told that it made a difference!
While leasing is dead for this year, we're willing to bet that the issue will come up again. Recent calls to privatize Cannon have come from the Senate. With a full third of the Senate membership not running for re-election, it's anyone's guess what that will mean for Cannon and Franconia Notch State Park. Gov. John Lynch, who has always opposed leasing Cannon, also is not seeking re-election.
