Perisher Valley (NSW), Australia (Sunday, July 14, 2002) - Australia’s biggest ski resort, Perisher Blue, has reaffirmed its commitment to conserving, protecting and enhancing the natural environment by highlighting a number of key initiatives presented in an easy to read poster.

The poster, which will be placed in highly visible locations throughout the resort, lists the implementation plan by Perisher Blue and calls on guests to join with the resort in consciously caring for the environment.

Perisher Blue is located within Kosciuszko National Park, an area known for its outstanding natural beauty and unique environmental diversity.

“We appreciate the potential for environmental impacts to occur within and beyond the resort,” said Perisher Blue Health Safety and Environment Manager David Milford.

“Perisher Blue also recognises the need for exemplary environmental management of these impacts to enhance the environmental, economic and social sustainability of our organisation and the region.

“As a resort we are dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of the natural, cultural, aesthetic and social values of the area while at the same time providing high quality social, cultural and recreational opportunities,” said Milford.

Since 1995, Perisher Blue has contributed in excess of AUD $255,000 to a special Environmental Monitoring Fund, which is administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

This contribution has helped fund the ongoing environmental studies on the Mountain Pygmy-Possum, water quality, pest species control and revegetation.

Perisher Blue has also instigated a number of other environmental initiatives including an award winning Ski Slope Plan (SSP), which promotes an environmental planning approach to operational considerations within the resort area.

Central to the SSP is the expansion of current snowmaking capacity. Perisher Blue is currently involved with various government agencies in determining sustainable levels of water extraction, rationalising extraction points and removing redundant equipment from streams.

The resort has also installed a number of small mammal crossings to allow the migration of small mammals (specifically the Mountain Pygmy-Possum and the Broad Tooth Rat) between habitat areas.

An area at Blue Cow that is a prime possum habitat has been closed to all access in an effort to minimise possible impacts.

Perisher Blue also professes to understand the importance of the Perisher Range to the Aboriginal people. The resort has commenced consultation with the Bega Traditional Aboriginal Elders Council in order to provide sympathetic development.

“We see many opportunities for interpretive projects within the resort in partnership with the Bega Traditional Elders Council,” said Milford.