Deer Valley

Deer Valley: green factor

• Introduction to green factor assessments
• Environmental overview of resorts
• Environmental initiatives

Major Initiatives

Since its opening in 1980, Deer Valley Resort has treasured its surroundings and made efforts to operate with the least impact possible, by recycling, performing water quality checks and orchestrating massive re-seeding and re-vegetating programs. The Resort continues to expand its environmental practices by participating in a sustainable energy program, designating open space in new developments, and increasing recycling efforts.

Deer Valley Resort President and General Manager Bob Wheaton says, "I think that all ski resorts, whether on public or private land, are charged with being stewards of the land. It's a responsibility that no one should take lightly and we certainly do not." Resort Director of Mountain Operations Chuck English concurs. "For ski areas, one of their strongest assets is the health of the nature around them - the habitat and the wildlife. We've all bought into helping to preserve the environment. It's why people like to come to ski resorts in the first place. It just makes sense."

Deer Valley Resort's environmental practices include:

Participation in PacificCorp/Utah Power's Blue Sky Program
Deer Valley signed on as a participant in PacificCorp/Utah Power's sustainable energy initiative. The Blue Sky program gives Utah Power customers the opportunity to purchase clean, renewable wind energy. Customers buy 100 kilowatt-hour blocks and Utah Power purchases energy from renewable wind power sources equal to the number of blocks purchased. Customers can therefore upgrade some or all of the electricity they use each month, with the balance of the power they use each month coming from traditional generation sources. In most cases, the renewable energy that is purchased by a customer through Blue Sky does not go directly to the customer's home or place of business, but Utah Power guarantees that the cleaner energy has been added to the western U.S. power system.

Deer Valley will pay more for the renewable energy sources than they would conventional electricity, but say it's worth it. As Utah Power's Web site describes, "When customers purchase Blue Sky, they are spurring more renewable energy development above what Utah Power already invests in on behalf of all of its customers. Therefore, Blue Sky customers make a positive impact to the environment. Since our prices are regulated, we are required to provide the lowest-cost electricity. The company's least-cost plan for power generation includes a substantial amount of renewables, such as wind and geothermal. Above these levels, Utah Power customers can spur even more to renewable development by purchasing Blue Sky. Overall, greater demand will lower prices for renewable power, which in turn will enable our nation to include a larger percentage of renewable power into its power mix."

In addition to participating in Blue Sky, Deer Valley has agreed to have PacificCorp/Utah Power run a complete energy audit on all of its buildings, from lodges to maintenance facilities, to research where and how the Resort can save energy.

950 Acres of Open Space Preserved at Flagstaff Mountain
A partnership between United Park City Mines, Deer Valley Resort, the City of Park City and Summit Land Conservancy secured almost 1000 acres of land with conservation easements during the summer of 2002. The open space land is located on Deer Valley's Flagstaff Mountain and in Empire Canyon adjacent to the Empire Pass development of United Park. Both Recreational Open Space and Protected Open Space will be preserved. Care was taken to protect historic mining sites, elk calving and bedding grounds, viewsheds, wetlands and access to hiking, biking, skiing and snowshoeing trails. Empire Pass will consist of approximately 500 units of development on four parcels confined withing 150 acres of land, to be developed over a period of 8 to 10 years. Three new Deer Valley ski lifts will be added to Flagstaff and Empire Canyon, the first of which is being installed in 2004.

Forest Service Management Plan
"We have a forest management plan that the Utah State forester put together initially in 1986-87," says Chuck English, Resort director of mountain operations. "It's an ongoing project to enhance the health of our tree stands. By thinning the trees, we create openings in the forests so that healthier species of trees can flourish."

Re-Seeding and Re-Vegetation
Deer Valley Resort uses a specially-designed seed mix developed in concert with the State of Utah and the U.S. Forest Service. The mix is a combination of native grasses that have large rootballs, which helps address erosion problems. It's drought tolerant, so it grows well with natural moisture and does not need to be watered and it's also a mix that wildlife likes to eat.

Resort staffers report that elk and deer herds as well as the number of moose on the mountain have increased in recent years. The Resort has also planted thousands of new trees on its property since its 1981 inception.

Water Testing
Deer Valley tests their runoff water in two different places at the Resort. The Resort tests for "total suspended solids" - as well as phosphates, nitrogen and other chemicals and minerals. "The water that runs off the resort is actually cleaner now than when the Resort opened," says Bob Wheaton.

Recycling
"We do a ton of recycling at Deer Valley," says Chris Anderson, Resort maintenance manager. "We recycle everything we can. The offices recycle paper, junk mail and cardboard. The lodges use recycled paper products for paper towels and toilet tissue. Our three day lodge restaurants recycle all plastic and glass bottles, such as wine and water bottles, as well as steel and aluminum containers used in the kitchen. The restaurants recycle all of their cardboard too. Each lodge has its own cardboard baler - we do it ourselves. We even recycle all of our old trail maps. Our lodge maintenance crews go to the recycling center every day from each lodge. In our maintenance department, we don't use certain paints that carry #3 trichorethylene. We've really been proactive in trying to use greener products, that are water based, environmentally friendly and biodegradable. All of our solvents are biodegradable. Under EPA guidelines, we properly dispose of all of our paint waste products, contaminated unleaded fuel or diesel fuel, oil filters, oil absorbents and fluorescent lighting. In the maintenance shops, we recycle anti-freeze and oils when possible, and we recycle all of our rubber products - from bull wheel liners to tires to snowcat track belting. We also recycle a large amount of scrap steel, copper, brass, and stainless steel."

Highway Clean Up Program
Deer Valley Resort employees have 'adopted' a section of Interstate-80, from Jeremy Ranch to Summit Park. They clean up trash in the area twice a year or as needed.

Since resorts are continuously increasing and improving their environmental practices, we update the Green Resort Guide throughout the year. If you have any information about new resort environmental policies/practices or anything that you think we may have missed, please email greenresortguide@skiclub.co.uk.

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