Each year in mid-December as we tune up our ski gear and eagerly await the first big storms, the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition (SACC), based in Durango, Colorado, releases its annual Ski Area Environmental Scorecard. The timing is no accident. Since 1999, SAAC has been releasing their detailed findings at the beginning of each season in order to help skiers make informed decisions about how to spend their skiing dollars. SAAC wants skiers to choose not on the basis of vertical feet, high speed quads or awesome jump lines in the parks, but for the environmental policies and practices of the resort management. The Coalition, according to their website, is primarily concerned with ‘the direct, cumulative impacts from resort development on undisturbed lands in alpine environments.’ SAAC unequivocally believes that ‘development on undisturbed forest lands is the single most damaging ecological impact a ski area can undertake.’
SAAC’s independent, third party analysis of 83 western resorts is conducted through a comprehensive survey system, email communications and phone interviews with each resort as well as data and records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Fourteen different criteria ranging from ‘maintaining ski terrain within the existing ski area footprint’ to ‘community sustainability’ are used to grade resorts from A to F with a total of 225 points possible.
How did our local resorts fare this year? Squaw Valley USA and Alpine Meadows both received an ‘A’ and made SACC’s Top Ten list coming in at number five and six respectively out of all the graded resorts. Homewood and Boreal also received an ‘A’ while Northstar got a ‘D’ and came in dead last out of the 18 California ski areas in the report. (See sidebar for all Tahoe ski area grades.)
How did Squaw manage to boost their marks after scoring lower in years past? Most importantly, they maintained ski terrain within the area’s existing footprint and preserved undisturbed lands from development. Squaw maximized points in these categories as did Alpine Meadows, except when it comes to a proposed new parking lot. Alpine lost points because their Master Plan update calls for developing a five-acre area north of the current lots and includes removing or reducing the ‘islands’ between the lots. The Forest Service says these unpaved islands play a critical role in maintaining wetland and infiltration areas.
Both Squaw and Alpine have made strides in managing their waste streams more efficiently, increasing mass transportation services and incentivizing rideshare programs, and creating environmental plans which include third-party audits and oversight.
Northstar was docked heavily for creating nearly 70,000 square feet of roadways, developing 800 acres of new real estate projects, adding 600 new parking spaces, impacting 1.25 acres of wetlands, and receiving a $2.75 million fine from the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board for water quality violations.
In addition to scoring individual areas, SAAC also graded the five largest corporate owners in the industry by averaging the overall score of their resorts and looking at company policy and practices related to energy use, waste management, climate change, transportation, employee housing and more. Aspen Skiing Company rated highest out of the five, with Powdr Corporation, owners of Boreal, Soda Springs and five other resorts coming in a close second. Vail Resorts, owner of five major ski areas including Heavenly, ranked last. In general, the companies receiving better grades are primarily involved in ski area ownership, while those with lower scores are also heavily involved in real estate development and are creating more impacts to previously undisturbed lands, waterways endangered species, and the communities around them.
The Scorecard’s overall results certainly demonstrate that environmental degradation increases as areas evolve from small, independently owned ski resorts to massive, urbanized real estate and year round recreational developments.
To view the report in its entirety and learn about the Ski Area Citizens Coalition, visit skiareacitizens.com.
