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Good for green growth

Vail Daily Editorial
Vail CO, Colorado

Environmentalists finally gave Vail Resorts some credit for planning to make its new West Lionshead village environmentally friendly, and also for building it on land that’s already occupied.

There was a caveat, however. Colorado Wild, an environmental group that has never been a fan of Vail Resorts’ ideas, said the most environmentally friendly alternative would be no development at all.

Tough words for a community that considers itself environmentally progressive simply because many of us fled crowded, traffic-clogged cities for lifestyles closer to nature. But each of our flights to the mountains has added to the growth some of us now call out of control.



Most of us love how big our local ski mountains are. That size ” those Back Bowls, Blue Sky Basins and Grouse Mountains, all those high-speed quads ” come with condominiums, hotels, airports, private jet centers and employee housing, as well as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Costco so the employees can afford to buy groceries, hardware and other necessities.

There’s no closing the door behind us; not when there’s so much money to be made and many Americans believe citizens and ski companies have a right to get the most out of their property.

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So Vail Resorts deserves some credit for recognizing that while development is going to continue, new buildings can do less damage to the environment.

We hope that with its tremendous influence in the region and the ski industry, Vail Resorts will continue to make environmental friendliness a priority in future projects.

” Matt Zalaznick for the Editorial Board


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