Photo by Justin Bailie 

Revegetation

Kirkwood conducts all on-mountain projects within the parameters of a strict Erosion Control Plan that is a part of our Summer Operations Plan.  The Summer Operations Plan is submitted to the U.S. Forest Service District Office each year for approval of summer activities.  Kirkwood and our USFS District office has developed a special native plant and grass seed mix for revegetation of all disturbed soil.  The seed mix has proven to be very effective in quickly returning disturbed native mountain soils to their original state and providing soil stabilization to prevent silt infiltration in streams.  Mulch for moisture retention in planted areas is either provided by on-site wood chipping or from sterile rice straw.  The sterile straw prevents non-native invasive weeds from infiltrating onto the mountain.  The same revegetation standards are upheld on public and private lands and are monitored by Kirkwood management staff, county public works officials and U.S. Forest Service personnel.

Through Kirkwood’s erosion control plan and procedures, all developers and the resort are required to begin revegetation on disturbed soils within ten days of last disturbance.  Topsoil is stockpiled and distributed over disturbed areas prior to revegetaion.  Kirkwood has planted over 250 red fir trees in the Timber Creek area the past two years as a part of our overall revegetaion effort and stewardship of local natural resources.

Kirkwood has performed numerous stream bank restorations along Kirkwood Creek, planted willows and restored wetland habitats.  Generally, wetland disturbance is avoided.  The resort’s mitigation measures are outlined in the 2003 approved Specific Plan’s EIR for private land development.  These measures demand minimal, if any, impact on wetland areas and continued erosion control on areas even unaffected by development.  Kirkwood’s Director of Environmental Planning and Affairs, Mike Richter, is also a horticulturist and has many years of experience designing animal habitat areas.  Mike’s expertise will be invaluable in helping to enhance the 133 acres of wetlands that are set-aside as part of a conservation easement for wildlife protection. 

Ecological Stewardship

Kirkwood has many regulations in place to ensure minimal environmental impact.  Water and soil analysis is performed throughout the year, as necessary, to ensure that the programs are working.  Noise ordinances are enforced for all development.  We have a low-light program in effect to reduce light pollution for new development and a retrofit program to reduce light emissions from existing development.

Just like our ski patrol monitors skiers/rider behavior during the course of the winter season, our bike patrol staff actively patrols the areas that are off-limits to mountain biking to retain the integrity of the USFS multiple-use trail system.  These practices help preserve the environment by curtailing erosion.

We are very protective of our flora and fauna and cultural heritage.  Any new proposed projects must be studied and approved by Forest Service or private sector biologists, botanists, hydrologists and archeologists.  Potential impacts are analyzed and if necessary, mitigation measures are adopted to reduce or eliminate any impacts to the environment. 

From saplings to old growth, we are passionate about preserving our trees

KMR has partnered with the Sugar Pine Foundation to identify 5-needle pine trees at Kirkwood that are resistant to a disease that has killed thousands of pine trees throughout Northern California since the 1930’s.  The plan is to develop and plant disease resistant seedlings to combat the disease and promote natural growth of resistant trees.  We are planning a fund-raiser and education booth in conjunction with our 2007 Summer Wildflower Festival to broaden homeowner and guest awareness of this important research program.

Kirkwood Lodging entered into its first year of a funding project with the National Forest Foundation for 2006/2007.  Every lodging rental unit fee includes a $1.00 donation to the NFF.  The funds generated go toward funding projects within the Eldorado National Forest.  The NFF is the congressionally chartered nonprofit partner of the U.S. Forest Service.

The approved 2003 Specific Plan for the private land development provides an unprecedented level of environmental protection for the community.  A partial list of some Specific Plan requirements include:

• Individual erosion control plans for each project.
• Geo-technical site inspection surveys for each project.
• Slope stability reports for each project.
• Biological surveys every 3 years for 6 years for each project.
• Streambed alteration agreements for each project.
• Wetland mitigation plans for all future developments.
• Archeological surveys for prehistoric cultural resources must be submitted for all projects not previously surveyed.
• Traffic count surveys must be completed every 3 years.
• Parking count reporting must be submitted every year.
• A recreation use survey must be completed every 4 years.
• Electrical and water consumption surveys are due to be completed at the time of expansion of the existing facilities.

Energy Efficiency, Waste Management, Recycling and Pollution Control

Kirkwood is unique in that Mountain Utilities (MU) generates all of our power on-site from a diesel-fired power plant with strict oversight by the California Public Utilities Commission.  The plant is equipped with state-of-the-art catalytic exhaust cleaning equipment to reduce particulate emissions.  MU purchased two new tier II generators prior to the 2006 winter season.  These machines have improved power generation efficiency by 20%.  This year, Mountain Utilities will become the first power generation facility at a ski resort to accept solar metering to help meet electrical demands.  One of our newly constructed homes in MU’s service area will be equipped with a solar net metering solution that will push electricity onto our local power grid.  KMR has been working jointly with the Kirkwood Meadows Public Utility District (KMPUD) to investigate the feasibility of bringing power off the grid into Kirkwood with an eye on energy conservation, cost reduction and improved air quality.

When Cornice Express and Timber Creek Express chairlifts were built in 2000 and 2005 respectively, harmonic filters were installed at the lifts to reduce harmonics returning to the MU power plant.  The result is more efficient power generation for MU.  The last two years KMR has engaged in a program of replacing old fluorescent light fixtures in our facilities with new electronic ballasts.  This has resulted in a 30% savings in energy use.  Additionally, motion detectors are being installed in appropriate areas so that lights turn off automatically when nobody is present.

Some of the beautiful enviromental heritage Kirkwood strives to protect Photo by Larry Prosor

Kirkwood has been partnering with Eldorado County for nearly three years with a recycling program.  Eldorado County supplies us with several efficient and attractive small recycle stations that are managed by Kirkwood staff and hand delivered by our facilities personnel to a recycling center.  Kirkwood utilizes a disposal/recycling company that hand picks through all of the refuse at a transfer station to salvage any recycled material that does not get recycled with our other methods.  Office white paper is also collected and transported to a recycle center.  In a new collaborative effort between KMR and KMPUD, large recycle bins are being installed this summer to help benefit the community and streamline the recycling program.

All KMR food service cooking oils are being recycled into biodiesel by Bently Biofuels in Minden, Nevada.  KMR now uses recycled products on over 67% of our office and food service paper products, having switched to a sugar cane based biodegradable packaging material in 100% of our food service locations this year.

The Kirkwood Meadows Public Utility District operates one of the finest state-of-the-art sewage treatment facilities in the state, but it is very costly.  The cost provides added incentive for the resort to be very conscientious about water conservation.  Over 67% of our public restroom facilities have been converted in recent years to low flow toilets.  We recently removed 26 toilets installed in the 1970’s and replaced them with modern urinals.  Emphasis will remain on eventually converting all of our restroom fixtures to low-flow.   Kirkwood Lodging and the housekeeping staff routinely monitor all utilities in the lodging units to make sure lights are turned off, thermostats are turned down and that there are no dripping faucets or leaky toilets.  All light bulbs get replaced with fluorescent bulbs.

Additional efforts to keep Kirkwood’s air clean include regulations on wood burning devices.  All new installations must comply with EPA Phase II clean air requirements except that one noncompliant open hearth fireplace will be allowed in the following areas.

• A common lobby area located in a building containing more than four multi-family units.
• A common lobby area located within lodges, hotels, motels, bed and breakfast accommodations, or a public recreation/meeting facility.
• A bar/saloon or restaurant.
• Outdoors in the Village Plaza.

Kirkwood entered into an agreement this year with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to sell Green Tags to our guests at the time of lift ticket purchase.  The Green Tags dollars are used to help develop new wind power generation facilities in the U.S.  KMR has pledged to match the total Green Tag sales dollars for the ski season.

To help minimize any petroleum pollution into our waterways, oil absorbent pads are strategically placed in creek and stream drainage courses below parking areas and roads around the resort to contain any oil entrained in water runoff.  

Employee Housing

Kirkwood provides employee housing for up to 30% of our peak employment base, which is the highest percentage we know of in the industry.  KMR also provides employee shuttle service from bed bases in South Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley in addition to a guest shuttle bus from South Shore.  Employees also receive coupons redeemable for food and merchandize at Kirkwood for carpooling.

Snowmaking

Snowmaking is often perceived as being unkind to the environment.  If climate change continues to shorten ski seasons, snowmaking may be called upon to play an even larger role in the ski industry.  KMR has gone to great measures to make our snowmaking system as efficient as we can.  The addition of 28 high efficiency snow guns over the past few years has allowed us to cut our electrical consumption by 25%.  The high efficiency guns have also allowed us to reduce the amount of air compressors utilized by 20% and operate on less than 40% of our prior capacity on most snowmaking nights.

KMR’s snowmaking system relies on water from Caples Lake, which is a nearby reservoir managed by Eldorado Irrigation District (EID).  EID engages in water release for hydroelectric needs while maintaining the water level in Caples Lake at a reasonable depth and always above minimum pool.  The amount of water used for snowmaking purposes is less than 5% of the total water used from the reservoir.  In fact, when the man-made snow melts in the spring, the water drains to the same drainage course as Caples Lake.  The lake is recharged each year from winter snowmelt.  Streams and creeks are virtually unaffected by the snowmaking operation.

Kirkwood is committed to continuing with our current successful programs and working hard to develop new programs that allow us to achieve the goals of our Mission Statement.