The Gore Creek’s Decline and Vail Resorts’ Contributing Role

Apr 26

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Gore Creek Decline & Vail Resorts

This article offers background on Gore Creek and the environmental challenges it faces, providing key context for the Vail Gore Creek Petition.

Why Gore Creek Matters

Stretching 18 miles through Ford Park in Eagle County, Gore Creek is directly tied to the quality of life and urban development in the town of Vail, Colorado. It provides wildlife habitat, essential utilities like drinking water and natural beauty that draws tourism dollars to the area—just a few of the key reasons Gore Creek is vital to the Vail community.

GoPro games vail co — *GoPro Games – Gore Creek, Vail*

fishing eagle county co — *Downstream from the Gore – Eagle River*

A Call to Action

Gore Creek has been plagued with pollution issues for the last 20 years due to various factors. Urbanization has fueled growth, but at a cost: nearly every aspect of the local environment has been impacted. Fertilizers from lawns and crops, chemicals used to treat roads, and continued construction have all contributed to pollution and a steady decline in the creek’s water quality.

In response, the City of Vail and 10 partner organizations created “Restore the Gore,” a plan outlining 27 strategies to improve water quality in Gore Creek. The initiative is part of a broader effort to revitalize Gore Creek, with ambitious improvements across the entire area. Securing funding for these projects, however, has long been a challenge—until recently.

Vail Resorts’ Contributing Role

Negligence by staff at Vail Resorts further polluted Gore Creek in 2021, when 2 million gallons of water contaminated with hazardous substances were accidentally released after snowmaking valves were left open. This pollution killed over 100 fish and other aquatic life in the creek deeming the water unsafe for an amount of time. Despite Vail Resorts’ “Epic Promise”—a public commitment to environmental and community sustainability—this incident occurred, alongside several others. As a result, the company was required to pay $250,000 toward the Ford Park restoration project, part of the broader Restore the Gore initiative, to help rehabilitate Gore Creek’s trout habitat. This contribution covered roughly 40% of the project’s budget and helped jump-start the restoration work. Still, if Vail Resorts truly wants to make a difference, they should go beyond the legal minimum and lead by example.

Vail Resorts made $2.6 billion in net revenue in 2023. If they’re serious about taking responsibility and living up to their stated values, they could—and should—have contributed more to the project, easing the burden on taxpayer-funded partners and local groups. Additional funding could have supported other elements of the Restore the Gore project, including public art, exercise spaces, sustainable landscaping, and more.

The Petition’s Purpose

This petition seeks to raise awareness of the disconnect between Vail Resorts’ stewardship claims and their operational practices. Our goal is to push them toward true accountability and meaningful, long-term environmental leadership—not just when it's convenient or required.

We must hold large corporations with a track record of environmental harm to a higher standard. Vail Resorts has the opportunity to lead by example and become a model for sustainability—especially when they are directly responsible, but also when they’re not.

Consider signing and sharing the petition here.