Land Trust, ECO Trails, Vail Resorts team up to clean up Duck Pond on 4th annual Echo Day

On Saturday, Sept. 21 the Eagle Valley Land Trust (EVLT) and ECO Trails partnered with Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek Resort for the fourth annual Vail Resorts Echo Day, facilitated through the Vail Resorts Echo program.

More than 225 Vail and Beaver Creek employees, friends and families planted 250 trees and shrubs, removed over 60 cubic yards of noxious weeds, and performed trail work on over 2,600 feet of new public trails at the Duck Pond Conservation Area between Gypsum and Dotsero on Highway 6.

“The Eagle Valley Land Trust is proud to have Vail Resorts Echo as our partner in the environmental conservation and stewardship, especially on VR Echo Day,” said Kara Heide, executive director for the Land Trust. “The Echo program strongly supports our organizational missions by providing financial assistance to our programs, volunteer hours for our projects and community leadership in environmental protection. Vail Resorts helps us save land for the people of Eagle County and preserve the unique character of our community through local land conservation.”

The 60-acre Duck Pond Conservation Area that volunteers from Vail Resorts helped to restore over the weekend is owned by Eagle County as part of their Open Space Program. This program is funded by a property tax in the interest of the protection and enhancement of wildlife habitat, riparian and aquatic environments, community recreation and community buffers.

“ECO Trails was thrilled to be included in Vail Resorts Echo Day this year. The citizens of Eagle County own the Duck Pond Conservation Area and it is a wonderful public service that Vail Resorts chose to help restore and improve it for future generations,” said Ellie Caryl, ECO Trails program manager. “In addition, the work that volunteers completed on a segment of the Eagle Valley Trail in this same area helps us save public funds on the cost of the construction and stretch dollars farther for other trail work.”

Launched in August 2010, VR Echo Day is an annual, company-wide volunteer day for Vail Resorts employees and their families. Focused on projects that are meaningful in the local resort communities where the company operates, VR Echo Day hosted eight events for employees and their family and friends over the weekend including Tahoe’s North and South Shores, in Colorado’s Summit and Eagle Counties, as well as in Park City, UT, Minneapolis, MN, Jackson, WY and Half Moon Bay, Jamaica.

To learn more about Vail Resorts Echo, the company’s corporate sustainability program, visit www.vailresortsecho.com.