December 5, 2016 (303) 504-5856 RWhittier@vailresorts.com
Vail Resorts’ commitment to environment includes facilitation of more than $1 million in charitable EpicPromise environmental projects in addition to “encouraging elected leaders to join our employees and guests in being responsible ecological stewards of the iconic natural landmarks where we live, work and play.”
December 5, 2016 – Broomfield, Colo. – Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) today called on the United States Congress to approve the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act to reauthorize important Lake Tahoe restoration activities begun in 1997 and that refocuses federal, state and local efforts toward reducing wildfire threats, improving water quality and clarity, and combating invasive species, all important to the local economy at one of the most visited lakes in the world.
“Lake Tahoe is a national treasure enjoyed by visitors from across the country and its protection and restoration is critical to our local communities and our recreation and tourism economies,” said Pete Sonntag, senior vice president of Vail Resorts. “It’s critical that we continue building on the successful public-private partnership that has been fostered to responsibly steward Lake Tahoe for generations to come.”
“As the federal government owns and manages approximately 78 percent of the lands within the Lake Tahoe watershed, successful restoration demands active federal participation and leadership. Part of our commitment to the environment includes encouraging elected leaders to join our employees and guests in being responsible ecological stewards of the iconic natural landmarks where we live, work and play. We believe it is essential that Congress take action to reinstate the funding authority that ended when the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2000 expired,” said Sonntag.
Vail Resorts also released details of its environmentally focused charitable contribution work for the last fiscal year which included the facilitation of more than $1 million for forest restoration and ecological stewardship projects. EpicPromise is the Company’s environmental and corporate social responsibility initiative that manages programs including the $1 guest donation initiative in partnership with The Tahoe Fund and the new 1% for the Forest commitment made in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and direct grants based in the Company’s resort communities.
“The Tahoe Fund has helped more than 20 environmental improvement projects get completed around Tahoe in the past five years,” said Amy Berry, chief executive officer of The Tahoe Fund. This includes restoration of two of the most important watersheds, miles of new bike paths, removal of acres of aquatic invasive weeds and recreational improvements at numerous sites around the Basin. None of this would have been possible without the very early and consistent support of Vail Resorts. Together with Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood Resorts, we are improving many aspects of the Tahoe environment for generations to come.”
“The Nature Conservancy is delighted to partner with Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise initiative,” said David Edelson, Sierra Nevada Project Director for The Nature Conservancy. “Here in the northern Sierra, we work at places like Independence Lake in the Truckee River Watershed and River Fork Ranch in the Carson River Watershed to protect and restore healthy forests and meadows. Through its “1% for the Forest” initiative, Vail Resorts will provide vital funding to protect forests, meadows and streams in the Sierra Nevada.”
Vail Resorts pointed to examples of its corporate commitment to preserving and protecting water quality in the Tahoe Basin through its ongoing collaborative work with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board and the United States Forest Service. At Heavenly Mountain, for example, the resort produces environmental monitoring reports for those agencies on a quarterly basis that
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detail conditions and projects to manage water quality and watershed, forest and wildlife vitality.
In the last fiscal year, Vail Resorts also provided access to Epic Discovery’s environmental education experience for more than 2,300 kids, most of whom would not otherwise have had the opportunity. Further, more than 350,000 visitors engaged with environmental education elements in the high alpine environments of Vail Mountain and Heavenly Mountain Resort.
Learn more about the work of Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise at www.EpicPromise.org.
About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. Vail Resorts’ subsidiaries operate 10 world-class mountain resorts and three urban ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in Canada; Perisher in Australia; Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan. Vail Resorts owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.
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