Mountain Resorts

IERS has worked extensively with mountain resorts and ski areas throughout the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges to develop practical approaches to protecting and restoring watershed health in the context of mountain resort operations and development. IERS' president, Michael Hogan, began his career in ski resort operations and revegetation, and therefore brings a unique depth of experience and understanding to addressing ski resort environmental management issues. IERS has worked with mountain resorts on a range of project types, including restoration project design and implementation, stormwater pollution prevention planning and oversight, ski run clearing, and pre- and post-construction erosion assessments.

Some of our clients include:

  • Northstar-at-Tahoe
  • Homewood Mountain Resort (JMA Ventures)
  • Heavenly Mountain Resort (Vail Resorts)
  • Resort at Squaw Creek (Lowe Development Company)
  • Grizzly Ranch (Lowe Development Company)
  • Squaw Valley USA
  • Mammoth Mountain
  • Tahoe Donner Cross Country
  • Mt. Ashland

Selected Projects

  • Northstar Environmental Management
  • Ski Area Sediment Source Control Handbook
  • Homewood Watershed Planning and Restoration, 2006-Present
  • Heavenly Mountain Resort Restoration Oversight and Monitoring
    Client: Heavenly Mountain Resort
    Client Sector: Private
    Integrated Environmental Restoration Services, Inc. (IERS) is working with Heavenly Valley ski resort to restore disturbed soil areas, develop a treatment approach for new construction and mountain improvement projects that results in no net impact on erosion. This project is the result of a collaborative process that Michael Hogan, IERS Principal, facilitated between the League to Save Lake Tahoe and Heavenly that resulted in a monitoring plan and approach based on clear goals, quantitative monitoring and transparent reporting that was agreed to by both entities. IERS is currently preparing soil and vegetation restoration specifications, training key field personnel on restoration construction techniques, overseeing implementation of restoration treatments for a range of construction and mountain improvement projects, and directly measuring pre- and post-treatment erosion rates to determine if goals are being met.
    References:
    Andrew Strain, Heavenly Mountain Resort, (775) 586-2313
    Rochelle Nason, League to Save Lake Tahoe, (530) 541-5388
  • Squaw Creek Erosion Control Program
    Client: Resort at Squaw Creek
    Client Sector: Private
    Integrated Environmental Restoration Services, Inc. is working with the Resort at Squaw Creek on designing, implementing and monitoring of extremely steep and large-scale slope restoration and erosion control projects on severely degraded ski runs in the Squaw Creek watershed. This program has been developed because of action by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (Lahontan) for water quality violations. This program, which has been developed in close coordination with Lahontan, has included a series of treatment test areas and monitoring to determine the most cost-and environmentally-effective treatments for this particular site.
    References:
    Cole Management, Rob Middleton, (510) 654-9088
    Lahontan RWQCB, Scott Ferguson, (530) 542-5432
  • Highlands View Road Slope Restoration