Ski Utah, which represents 14 Utah ski resorts including Alta, Beaver Mountain, Brian Head Resort, Brighton Resort, Cherry Peak Resort, Deer Valley Resort, Eagle Point Resort, Nordic Valley Resort, Park City, Powder Mountain, Snowbasin Resort, Snowbird Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort and Sundance Resort, has announced a partnership with Protect Our Winters (POW).

The goal of the team-up is to help raise attention to climate change in the state of Utah. Nathan Rafferty, president and CEO of Ski Utah, has sent a letter to Utah Governor Gary Herbert requesting his support of the recently passed Clean Power Plan as well as urging him to implement a gameplan to achieve the goals set forth by the Clean Power Plan.

For more information, read the press release below.

Press release by Ski Utah:

Ski Utah, a membership organization representing Utah’s 14 alpine ski resorts, and Protect Our Winters (POW) are proud to announce a partnership with the mission of raising awareness of climate change and uniting the winter sports community in the state of Utah.

Protect Our Winters is the environmental axis of the global winter sports community, powered by its goal of reducing the effect climate change is imposing on our local sports and economies. Ski Utah is dedicated to promoting the ski and snowboard industry in the great state of Utah. The state is famous for its world-class resorts including Alta, Beaver Mountain, Brian Head Resort, Brighton Resort, Cherry Peak Resort, Deer Valley Resort, Eagle Point Resort, Nordic Valley Resort, Park City, Powder Mountain, Snowbasin Resort, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort and Sundance Resort as well as having The Greatest Snow on Earth®. Together POW, Ski Utah and these renowned resorts can impact the entire community and industry with incredible success.

To show Ski Utah’s immediate commitment to POW, CEO/President of Ski Utah, Nathan Rafferty, sent a letter to Governor Herbert asking for his public support of the EPA Clean Power Plan and to urge him to submit an on-time strategy to achieve the targets set forth in the Clean Power Plan. “As a leading advocate for one of Utah’s greatest assets, The Greatest Snow on Earth, and its $1.2 billion-dollar winter tourism industry, it is a natural fit for Ski Utah to partner with POW,” says Rafferty. “POW has done an excellent job representing the global snowsports community in the fight against climate change. We look forward to supporting POW’s mission and raising further climate change awareness here in Utah.”

“We’re honored to be partnering with Ski Utah,” says Executive Director of Protect Our Winters, Chris Steinkamp, “With so much at stake and with so many POW members and athletes living in Utah, this partnership will only accelerate our efforts to unite Utah’s winter recreation community around environmental responsibility and climate action this year.”

Moving forward, Ski Utah will encourage snowsports participants to join POW’s efforts through print, digital and social campaigns. In an effort to raise local and national awareness around the cause, Ski Utah, Protect Our Winters and Discrete with efforts from Alta and Snowbird will be hosting the first ‘POW Day’ on Jan. 13, 2016. According to NOAA, Jan. 13 statistically has the highest percentage for snowfall in the Wasatch over any other day of the year. On this day Ski Utah will be encouraging skiers and riders to carpool, take UTA or ride-share to help lower CO2 emissions, reduce traffic congestion and increase overall awareness around environmental accountability.

For more information on all the resort’s sustainability efforts, check out www.skiutah.com/media-room/keep-utah-cool.

To get involved with Protect Our Winters, visit www.protectourwinters.org.

Related: The Clean Power Plan: Preparing for skiing’s future