Environmental Awareness

Environmental stewardship is an important part of life in Lake Tahoe. Our proximity to the Lake makes it one of the most unique and awe-inspiring places to live, work and recreate. That proximity also means that nearly everything we do impacts the Lake, and the community and businesses must act as environmental stewards in order to preserve our precious gift.

Heavenly Mountain Resort has embraced this aspect of Tahoe living, implementing a host of environmentally-friendly business practices designed to protect and preserve the unique natural beauty of the lands on which we ski and ride.

 

Environmental Awards

• In May of 2008 Heavenly Mountain Resort was designated as one of the Best Workplaces for Commuters by the National Center for Transit Research for meeting the National Standard of Excellence for outstanding commuter benefits.
  
  
• Vail Resorts, Inc. received a 2008 Silver Eagle Award for Excellence in Water Conservation. The Easy Street Run Enhancement project at Heavenly reduced ski trail rock and obstacle heights to 18" above grade and improved ground cover to reduce run off. This project reduced snowmaking by 65%, saving approximately 1,346,250 gallons of water and 1,077,000 KW of power annually.
  
• Heavenly received a Mountain Sports Media 2002 Silver Eagle Award in Environmental Excellence for Visual Impact for Heavenly’s Gondola, a low-profile lift designed and built to minimize environmental and visual impacts.
   
• Heavenly received a Mountain Sports Media 1995 Silver Eagle Award in Environmental Excellence for its Galaxy Flat wetland project, in which Heavenly created an entirely new seven-acre wetland habitat near the East Peak Lake. The first high-altitude wetland ever created (at 8,500 feet), the maturing wet meadow has increased wildlife diversity and provided a natural filtration system for snow run-off.
   
• In 1995, Heavenly received an erosion control award from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for the installation of a comprehensive storm water treatment system and receiving wetland for storm water run-off from the California Main Lodge and parking lot.
   
• Heavenly received the 1993 Business of the Year Award from the Lake Tahoe Rim Trail Association, recognizing Heavenly’s efforts to support the building and maintenance of the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Learn more about Heavenly’s Environmental Programs:

• Conservation and Recycling Programs
  
• Water Quality Programs
  
• Air-Quality Programs
  
• Erosion Control Programs
  
• Environmental Education
  
• Partnerships
  

 

Conservation and Recycling Programs

• Beginning in August of 2006, Heavenly purchased 16 million kilowatt-hours of wind energy per year, offsetting 100 percent of its energy use for the 2007-2008 season.
   
• Beginning in August of 2006, Heavenly and Vail Resorts partnered with the National Forest Foundation to raise funds for the National Forests of the Lake Tahoe Basin by asking guests to contribute $1 for each season pass or lift ticket they buy. The NFF uses the money for forest conservation projects.
   
• In partnership with Sierra Pacific Power, Heavenly Mountain Resort gave away 12,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs to their California resident employees in 2008. This program will lead to a total lifetime energy savings of 3,432,000 kWh. This is the equivalent of keeping 7,718,568 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
  
• Heavenly has partnered with El Dorado County and South Tahoe Refuse for source separation of trash on the California side, preventing its recyclables from being sent to the landfill.
   
• 'Compost Your Combustibles' is an annual event hosted by Heavenly and coordinated with the Tahoe-Douglas Fire District and South Tahoe Refuse. This program encourages locals to bring their yard wastes to Heavenly for source separation and re-use on the mountain for summer erosion control. Through this program Heavenly diverted 600 tons of waste from going to the landfill in 2008.
   
• All of Heavenly’s lodges have been outfitted with low-flow fixtures to conserve water at Lake Tahoe.
   
• Heavenly is using low-phosphorous cleaning products throughout the resort.
   
• Heavenly has signed an agreement with Bently Biofuels for the collection and purchase of Heavenly’s used fry oil for Biofuel production. . In addition, Heavenly currently purchases a B10 mix of biodiesel for use in all company diesel run vehicles and heavy equipment.
   
• During the 2007-2008 ski season, Heavenly switched to serving entrées in reusable baskets and using reusable silverware, leading to a decrease in waste production while also saving energy and water.
   
• Heavenly is protecting wildlife by animal-proofing all of its restaurants and lodges.
   
• All four new on-mountain lodges and restaurants will be built to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles.
   
• Heavenly’s lodges are being retrofitted with energy efficient lighting for a significant decrease in energy consumption.
   
• New trail prescriptions are being implemented that balance reducing energy and water consumption with the conservation of micro-habitat for wildlife and soil resources.
   

 

Water-Quality Programs

• Heavenly currently implements and attains a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for suspended sediment on Heavenly Valley Creek. It was the first of its kind in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
   
• With the help of the USDA Forest Service, Heavenly has created and implemented the Ski Area Cumulative Watershed Effects Restoration Program. Each summer since the mid-1990’s, Heavenly has actively implemented remedial erosion control and re-vegetation projects to improve water quality and reduce soil erosion from ski runs and summer maintenance roads.
   
• Heavenly has spent three-quarters of a million dollars installing a new storm water management facility at the Boulder Lodge and parking lot.
   
• In the summer of 2008, Heavenly implemented Phase 3 of a multi-million dollar, three-phase storm water management project at the California Main Lodge and parking lot.
   
• Heavenly recently completed a storm water treatment system for the Upper Maintenance Shop to improve water quality.
   
• In sum, all of Heavenly’s on-mountain watershed protection projects and storm water management help reduce nutrient and sediment loads in Lake Tahoe, thus helping us protect its world-famous clarity.
   

 

Air-Quality Programs

• As a board member on both the Tahoe Transportation District and the South Shore Transportation Management Association, Heavenly is committed to improving transportation systems in South Lake Tahoe.
   
• Heavenly provides the only free transportation system in Lake Tahoe for both guests and employees.
   
• As the founding member of the Coordinated Transit System, Heavenly’s mission is to get people out of vehicles and off the road through the use of a fleet of shuttle buses. Heavenly transported over 400,000 employees and guests each season, saving nearly 160,000 vehicle miles of travel each winter season.
   
• Heavenly is using the best available technology to modernize its shuttle bus fleet, snow cats and snowmobiles to reduce emissions. All of Heavenly’s snow cats run on Category Three green engines, and all of Heavenly’s snowmobiles are outfitted with four-stroke engines. Both are the greenest technologies commercially available. Heavenly recently purchased ten new shuttle buses that utilize clean fuel technology. The remainder of the fleet is scheduled to be replaced over the next few years.
   
• Heavenly actively encourages carpooling and alternative modes of transportation through employee incentives and outreach.
   

 

Erosion Control Programs

• Heavenly is a founding member of the California Alpine Resorts Environmental Cooperative (CAREC), an organization made up of several Sierra Nevada ski resorts and the State of California Water Resources Control Board, designed to develop, test and share information on erosion control, revegetation and water quality protection.
   
• Heavenly pioneered the use of water bars on its runs to help reduce soil erosion.
   
• In 2007, Heavenly completed a comprehensive Stream Environment Zone Restoration project on Edgewood Creek leading to enhanced sediment retention, a significant increase in riparian habitat, and additional nutrient uptake potential.
   

 

Environmental Education

• Heavenly protects the Tahoe Draba, a sensitive, high-alpine plant species unique to the Lake Tahoe Basin, through management activities including protective exclusion fencing, interpretive information for guests, employee training and avoidance.
   
• Now in its fourth season, Heavenly has partnered with the USDA Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to offer the Winter Trek Program, an environmental education program for 5th graders that takes place at the top of the Heavenly Gondola.
   
• Heavenly serves as a committee member of the Tahoe Earth Day Foundation which strives to educate the general public regarding the Lake Tahoe and Truckee region’s unique beauty and how to preserve and protect it.
   

 

Partnerships

• Heavenly has partnered with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the USDA Forest Service and Mt. Rose Ski Area to undertake genetic testing of the Tahoe Draba with the goal of preparing a long-term conservation strategy and management plan to ensure the success of the species.
   
• Heavenly works closely with and financially supports the Tahoe-Baikal Institute, a non-profit organization established to help preserve mountain lake watersheds, including, and especially, Lake Tahoe and Russia’s Lake Baikal (the world’s largest freshwater lake). TBI provides training, education and exchange, original research opportunities, and hands-on project experience for young people and professionals who wish to become involved in efforts to save our global environment.
   
• Heavenly serves as a founding co-chair of the Lake Tahoe Transportation and Water Quality Coalition, a public-private partnership that implements an annual legislative agenda designed to bring state and federal funds to Lake Tahoe in order to implement restoration projects throughout the Basin which help the region attain and maintain the adopted Environmental Threshold Carrying Capacity standards.
   
• Heavenly serves as a member of the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee which oversees and directs the implementation of the Federal Lake Tahoe Restoration Act.