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Environmental impacts of ski resorts
The process of resort development have progressed since the birth of the skiing industry. As the economic role of the skiing industry grew, the environmental impact of resort development has also caused environmental burdens on the natural ecosystem including mountain water levels of lakes, streams, and wildlife. Amenities and infrastructure such as concrete buildings, ski-lifts, gondolas, access roads, parking lots, and railways have contributed to the urbanization of mountainous zones.

Primary (direct) impact of resort development
In recent years, the use of snow canons have increased due to the fall in the volume of snow. In order to obtain good quality snow, dust or bacteria is mixed with the water in the process of snowmaking to form better snowflakes. Not only that the manufacture of artificial snow is costly and uses large amounts of water, but sometimes the creation of artificial lakes are necessary for the snow-making process. Snow canons redistributes a large amount of water unnaturally over the land and freezes the ground vegetation late into spring, preventing growth and leaving pistes bare. With enough amount of excess water, and the likelihood of landslides and avalanches would be drastically higher.

Secondary (indirect) impact of resort development
The required space for hotels, flats and secondary residences has increased the amount of space occupied by roads and buildings. While a large amount of people requires special water, sewage and electricity systems, a great deal of construction work is needed. Access roads and the treatment of salt are responsible for high amounts of erosion at ski resorts. In some cases natural lakes must be tapped or reservoirs built to cater for the population demand. The urbanization of mountainous areas have increased the space of impervious surface, and prevents the natural flow of water into the ground. Resulting in a disturbed water table and potential cause of erosion in undesired places. Lastly, when building ski lifts, its line of operation must be shaped and drained, and large concrete blocks must be set down for pylons. If the pylons are not carefully place, it could cause damage to surface vegetation.

http://www.laviniaes.com/files/8013/5980/3263/EffectsOfTheSkiingIndustryOnTheEnvironment.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/science/12slopes.html

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01011.x/full

http://www.mnn.com/money/sustainable-business-practices/stories/snowmakers-are-saving-ski-resorts-for-now