Sustainability

At Snowbasin, we make every effort to conserve energy use. We have made significant upgrades to our building controls, snowmaking, and heating needs to reduce our energy consumption. Being energy efficient is good for the environment and benefits the community we share a grid with. We all win with sustainability.

Snowbasin has a robust waste diversion program. We reduce thousands of pounds of waste each year that would otherwise end up in our landfills. Reducing waste is an environmentally sound practice that also benefits our community. Weber County transfer station is rapidly nearing capacity. Weber County is already paying to ship much of its waste to other landfill areas. They no longer accept waste from residents of other counties. The urgency is upon us, and Snowbasin understands our responsibility to reduce our waste and leave space for years to come.

Snowbasin has a strong program for maintaining healthy ecosystems. A few things we maintain are wildlife habitats like bird nests, native plant species, erosion damage, and controlling invasive species of plants and insects. We know that healthy ecosystems clean air, provide drinking water, regulate climate and provide many other human and animal health benefits. Snowbasin is committed to the ecosystems our community thrives on.

Snowbasin is a water-conscious operation. We have done traditional measures to ensure we are water efficient. Some of those things include, updated appliances, low-water toilets, landscaping adjustments and similar. We go beyond the usual water conservation efforts with a water recapture tank, efficient wells, and more. In years of abundant water availability, this is important, but in years of drought, our community needs our diligence and they can count on us.

Sageland and Tracy Aviary Rosy-Finch Project

Black, Gray-crowned, and Brown-capped Rosy-finches remain some of the least understood birds in North America. Rosy finches depend on alpine habitats to nest and raise their young. It is suspected rosy finches may be negatively impacted by the warming climate in our mountains. Learning about rosy finches in the summer is extremely difficult because their nests are placed high on cliffs and in remote areas. However, in the winter, flocks of rosy finches visit bird feeders, which provide accessible study sites. Thus, the Rosy-finch Feeder Counts Project was born!

Here at Snowbasin, a group of dedicated volunteers under the direction of Sageland Collaborative and Tracy Aviary, are supporting rosy-finch conservation. The volunteers are conducting regular monthly feeder counts and incidental observations providing data to help understand the winter habits of rosy finches along the Wasatch Mountains. For more information or to volunteer during monthly feeder counts, email safe@snowbasin.com.

Birdfeeder Locations & Feeder Count Dates

• Locations
  • The upper mountain feeder is now located on the southeast side of Needles Lodge between the lower-level doors and the patio. 
  • The lower mountain feeder is located to the left of the sign with the eagle on it, skiers left on the Snowshoe Run.
• Count Dates
  • Meet at 10:30am outside the basement entrance doors of Needles Lodge 
    • January 21 
    • February 18 
    • March 18
    • April 15