Good News: Vail Resorts Supports Wilderness in Eagle and Summit Counties

CMC Conservation along with other conservation groups today lauded Vail Resorts for backing the efforts of Sen. Mark Udall and Rep. Jared Polis to designate new wilderness in the Central Colorado Rockies.

The company publicly endorsed the efforts of Sen. Udall and Rep. Polis to protect nearly 175,000 acres of public lands in Summit and Eagle counties with either wilderness or special management designations.

  

The announcement is posted on the Vail Resorts website.

Vail Resorts operates ski and snowboard areas in Colorado, California and Nevada, including Vail and Beaver Creek ski areas in Eagle County, and Breckenridge and Keystone ski resorts in Summit County.

Vail Resorts’ endorsement adds to the already lengthy list of businesses in Summit and Eagle Counties that have urged Udall and Polis to protect ecologically important backcountry lands.

In late 2011, 103 businesses in Pitkin County signed on to a letter urging Colorado’s Congressional Delegation to protect lands outside Carbondale and around Aspen, and 189 businesses in Summit and Eagle County sent a letter to Sen. Udall urging him to work with Rep. Polis and protect lands in those counties.

The Central Colorado Outdoor Heritage Act, which Sen. Udall and his staff is currently vetting in local communities, would protect 32 areas comprising 236,000 acres of public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in Summit, Eagle and Pitkin Counties.

“Wilderness is good for business,” says Jay Heeter, Campaigns Coordinator with Colorado Mountain Club. “I’ve personally spoken with more than 100 business based in Summit County who understand that a healthy environment helps them thrive.”