The ski industry has long been in the business of environmental stewardship. Those who pursue professions in the ski industry do so because they love the outdoors, the sport, and living in a small community.
Nonetheless, the ski industry is coming under greater scrutiny from its communities and environmental interests regarding the environmental impacts associated with its activities and development. Where uncertainty exists about the environmental effects of a ski area and its role in the growth of a small mountain community, tension and mistrust often result. A lack of open communication between the ski area, its community and its critics can further intensify the situation.
As a facilitator for The Keystone Center, I have been involved in a number of efforts that demonstrate the industry’s potential to proactively address issues of environmental quality. The Keystone Center was founded in 1975 in Keystone, Colo., (independently from the resort) to help those in the governmental and nongovernmental arena facing environmental dilemmas such as radioactive waste disposal. By coming to a neutral setting like Keystone, they might be able to build the trust and partnerships necessary to find solutions to difficult issues. We are now assisting our mountain neighbors in initiating processes to create trust and support for solving their own environmental challenges. In part, resorts and others in mountain communities are realizing that growth and its environmental effects are complex issues to which no one business, resort, non-profit or government agency holds the answer.
As an example, Copper Mountain Resort has recently embraced a suggested process from EPA and the Forest Service to explore potential issues with their proposed on-mountain improvements with the agencies and the public prior to initiating any formal review. Through this process, Copper has become a leader in defining a new way to interact with review agencies and the public regarding future mountain changes.
The Keystone Center’s role in these endeavors is to assist in identifying the concerns of those involved, finding areas of common ground and understanding, and cultivating partnerships that start addressing these complex issues. We achieve this through designing open processes, and facilitating meetings in a neutral setting that allow for engaging in honest exchanges, building trust and ultimately forging agreements for moving forward.
We first became involved with this industry through our assistance with an EPA Sustainable Industry Program. EPA’s efforts are aimed at identifying incentives for the travel and tourism industry to improve environmental performance in a [continued on page 81 — not in PDF]
