Vail environmental plan recognized
VAIL — The Town of Vail has been recognized as a recipient of a 2014 SHIFT Sustainability Award for its Environmental Sustainability Strategic Plan. The plan includes the community wide recycling ordinance that became effective in July. SHIFT is an annual festival held in Jackson Hole that celebrates the future of conservation. An integral part of the festival is the SHIFT Summit, which showcases leading sustainability and conservation initiatives from communities across the country whose economic and cultural vitality relies on the health of their environment.
The 2009 Town of Vail Environmental Strategic Plan was adopted to maintain and improve environmental quality in the Vail Valley and to ensure the prolonged economic health of the region. Vail was chosen from more than 600 submissions around North America. The 50 winners of the Sustainability Awards were identified as having the most effective and innovative sustainability initiatives currently underway in their communities.
Kristen Bertuglia accepted the award for the town. Bertuglia was recently promoted to the new position of environmental sustainability manager in the Vail Community Development Department after leading the town’s environmental initiatives since 2008. The town’s environmental staff will double once Bertuglia’s former position is filled.
