The Mountain Wildfire Action Series
After an historically low snowpack winter, wildfire awareness is at the forefront of conversations across every mountain community.
Join Mountain Towns 2030, Tahoe Fund and Fire Aside for a three-part webinar series exploring the strategies, technologies, and partnerships helping mountain towns build resilience and prepare for an increasingly fire-prone future.
We’re bringing together first responders, technology leaders, community practitioners, utility leaders, resort operators, and resilience experts to help highlight practical strategies to reduce wildfire risk, strengthen preparedness, and accelerate action across mountain regions. Learn. Plan. Act.
Whether you are a local government leader, fire professional, resort operator, utility provider, business leader or engaged community member, this series will provide actionable insights and connections to help prepare for a more resilient future.
Session 1:
June 23rd
10:00 am PT/11am MT
Stage Setting – Prevention & Preparedness
Learn how mountain communities are proactively reducing wildfire risk through planning, preparedness, and emerging technologies, with insights from frontline responders and experts working to build resilience before disaster strikes.
Guests:
•Hilary Franz, President & CEO, American Forests
•Rick Balentine, Aspen Wildfire Strategies, LLC
•Jason Brooks, Co-founder, Fire Aside
•Amy Berry, Executive Director, Tahoe Fund
Session 2:
July 14th
10:00 am PT/11am MT
Innovation & Policy Solutions in Mountain Towns
Explore how communities across the West are advancing wildfire resilience through innovative policies, funding mechanisms, partnerships, and scalable solutions that can be adapted to mountain regions everywhere.
Guests:
•Sydney Morrow, Glenbrook HOA
•Eric Horndtvedt, Truckee Fire Protection District
Session 3:
July 28th
10:00 am PT/11am MT
The Role of Ski Resorts & Utilities
Ski resorts and utility providers are uniquely positioned to help protect mountain communities from increasing wildfire risk. This session will explore how resort operators and utility leaders are advancing resilience through forest management, land stewardship, infrastructure investments, and regional partnerships.
Guests:
•Todd Chapman, JMA Ventures / Homewood Ski Resort
•Kevin Johnson, PG&E
•Cody, O’Neil, Holy Cross Electric
Host A MT2030 Webinar in ’26
This year, MT2030 is hosting a series of monthly webinars that give communities a platform to share real-world case studies, expertise, and insights with peers. By highlighting solutions already being deployed, we help other communities replicate what works – saving months of planning and effort.
Do you have a climate solution successfully implemented in your community that you’d be willing to share? Webinars run up to 60 minutes and include time for questions and discussion.
We’d love to hear from you—share a few details below and we’ll be in touch soon.
Winter 2025/26: A Climate-Fueled Season
Join us on Thursday, January 14th for a timely conversation on this winter’s early-season snowpack across the Western U.S. We’ll explore the unseasonable weather patterns we’ve experienced so far, what the outlook suggests for potential change, and how these conditions are being shaped by a warming climate.
We’ll also examine the economic impacts already being felt in one iconic mountain community and how local partners are stepping up to support businesses during an uncertain season.
Plenty of time will be reserved for audience questions.
Featured Speakers:
- Morgan Mingle, Director of Sustainable Tourism, Park City
- Daniel Swain, Climate Scientist, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Shel Winkley, Meteorologist, Climate Central
Date:
Wednesday, January 14th
10:00 a.m. MT
2025 MT2030 Climate Summit Unites 600+ Mountain Leaders to Accelerate Climate Action
Breckenridge, CO – More than 600 leaders from 61 mountain communities and 37 ski resorts came together last week at the Mountain Towns 2030 (MT2030) Climate Summit, the leading climate convening for mountain and rural communities across North America.
Over two days of powerful discussion and collaboration, local officials, resort executives, nonprofits, and industry partners shared proven strategies to cut emissions, strengthen resilience, and fast-track the transition to clean energy.
Elected Leaders Sign Collective Climate Pledge
In a historic first, 37 elected leaders from mountain towns nationwide signed a joint statement committing to work together to cut emissions, transition to clean energy, and protect the places they love.
“As elected leaders of mountain communities, we’re bonded by a deep love for our natural settings and an intense responsibility to protect them,” the statement reads. “We pledge to work together to accelerate climate solutions at the local and regional level, building a nationwide movement powerful enough to drive emissions to zero.” Read the entire statement and see the signatories here.
Summit Highlights Included:
- Keynote from Bill McKibben, author, activist, and founder of 350.org and Third Act, whose message underscored both the urgency and the opportunity to achieve global energy independence through solar innovation.
- A moving discussion with Youth Climate Activists from Livingston, Montana, who won their landmark case holding the state accountable for failing to protect the environment, a defining moment for youth-led climate action.
- Ramón Méndez, Uruguay’s former National Director of Energy, detailed how his country now generates 98% of its electricity from renewables, showing what’s possible through political will and bold policy.
- Utility and co-op leaders reaffirmed their commitment to clean energy and called on mountain communities to partner in achieving shared goals.
- 35 peer-led work sessions on climate planning, electrification, thermal energy, advocacy, finance, and resilience, equipping local leaders with actionable tools and a powerful network for impact.
- Presentation of the MT2030 Climate Action Awards, recognizing standouts:
- Town of Ridgway, CO Mayor John Clark (Mountain Catalyst)
- Town of Ridgway, CO (Small Towns Doing Big Things)
- City of Hailey, ID (Community of the Year)
- Park City Community Foundation & Chamber (Collaboration of the Year)
“This year’s Summit felt especially powerful,” said Chris Steinkamp, Executive Director of MT2030. “Mountain communities are on the front lines of climate change, but they’re also leading the way with innovation and collaboration. The unity and energy we saw this week give me real hope.”
Founded in 2019, MT2030 helps mountain, ski resort, and rural communities to collectively reach net-zero carbon emissions through collaboration, shared resources, and measurable action.
For more information, visit mt2030.local/.
Media Contact:
Chris Steinkamp, Executive Director
Mountain Towns 2030
chris@mt2030.org
(303) 815-2057
37 Elected Officials Sign Statement of Collective Climate Action
On October 8th, 2025, at the Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Summit in Breckenridge, CO, 37 elected leaders from mountain communities met and pledged to work together to reduce emissions, transition to clean energy, and protect the natural environments that define their communities.
Statement from Mountain Community Elected Officials on Climate Action
“Our mountain communities are on the front lines of climate change and the resulting weather extremes – shortened winters, vanishing snowpack, escalating wildfires, worsening drought, flash floods – are direct threats to our local economies. These impacts are no longer warnings of a distant future: they are here, they are now.
For us, climate action is not a choice; it is a necessity. It is our duty to protect public health, safeguard our local economies and livelihoods, and preserve the mountains we call home. Our obligation to current and future generations compel us to lead where others have faltered.
While federal leaders delay and deny, our communities bear the burden. Their inaction leaves us no choice but to lead. Real progress must come from the ground up, by those living with the daily consequences of climate change. We are the ones most compelled to act and best positioned to move quickly.
As elected leaders of mountain communities, we’re bonded by a deep love for our natural settings and an intense responsibility to protect them. Therefore, we pledge to work together to accelerate climate solutions at the local and regional level, building a nationwide subnational movement powerful enough to drive emissions to zero.
With the proven solutions at hand, the task now is speed. We must collaborate. We will share strategies, expertise, and data; break down barriers; and leverage our collective influence to ensure every community has the resources to act with speed.
In doing so, we will not only strengthen our resilience to growing risks but also demonstrate to our residents, visitors, and the nation that the clean energy future is already here — and that mountain communities are rising together to meet this moment.”
Signed:
Jay Beckerman, Town Council Member, Breckenridge, CO
Scott Beilfuss, City Council Member, Grand Junction, CO
Hannah Berman, Town Council Member, Basalt, CO
Ian Billick, Mayor, Crested Butte, CO
Gary Brooks, Town Council Member, Avon, CO
Judith Chandler, City Council Member, Manitou Springs, CO
John Clark, Mayor, Ridgway, CO
Lauren Puckett Daniels County Commissioner, Gunnison County, CO
Muffy Davis, County Commissioner, Blaine County, ID
Ryan Dickey, City Council Member, Park City, UT
John Doyle, Mayor Pro Tem, Aspen, CO
Galena Gleason, County Commissioner, San Miguel County, CO
Geoffrey Grimmer, Town Council Member, Eagle, CO
Tamara Gulde, City Council Member, Ouray, CO
Gary Hall, Mayor, Estes Park, CO
Courtney Hamilton, City Council Member, Ketchum, ID
Jamie Henn, Town Council Member, Winter Park, CO
Jennifer Hughes, Town Council Member, Winter Park, CO
Tripp Hutchinson, City Council Member, Ketchum, ID
Francie Jacober, County Commmissioner, Pitkin County, CO
Rebecca Kaufman, Town Council Member, Winter Park, CO
Beth Lakin, Town Council Member, Ridgway, CO
Sonja Macys, County Commissioner, Routt County, CO
Megan McKenna, County Council Member, Summit County, UT
Jeanne McQueeney, County Commissioner, Eagle County, CO
Dominique Naccarato, Town Council Member, Salida, CO
Genevieve Oswald, Town Council Member, Taos, NM
Corilia Ortega, Town Council Member, Taos, NM
Kelly Owens, Mayor, Town of Breckenridge, CO
Barbara Richard, Town Council Member, Dillon, CO
Ann-Marie Sandquist, Mayor, Silverthorne, CO
Jonathan Schechter, Town Council Member, Jackson, WY
Matt Scherr, County Commissioner, Eagle County, CO
Tana Toly, Town Council Member, Park City, UT
Juanita Vero, County Commissioner, Missoula County, MT
P.T. Wood, County Commissioner, Chaffee County, CO
Erin Young, Town Council Member, Silverthorne, CO
Winners Announced for the Mountain Towns 2030 Elevate Scholarship
Nominated Communities Will Receive an All-Expenses-Paid Trip to the Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Summit
Mountain Towns 2030 (MT2030) today announced the recipients of the 2025 Elevate Scholarship, a program created to ensure that every mountain community—regardless of financial barriers—can participate in the annual MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit.
The inaugural scholarship, generously supported by Alaska Airlines and Breckenridge Grand Vacations, covers airfare and lodging expenses for selected communities and resorts, enabling them to join their peers in Breckenridge, Colorado on October 7-8, 2025.
This year’s Elevate Scholarship recipients are:
- Martis Camp, California
- Nevada County, California
- Crystal Mountain Resort, Washington
- Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, California
- Town of Mammoth Lakes, California
“Every community should have the opportunity to attend the Summit,” said Chris Steinkamp, MT2030 Executive Director. “We’re thrilled that these communities can join their peers in Breckenridge to learn about innovative climate solutions and collaborate on bold climate action planning, and we’re deeply grateful to Alaska Airlines and Breckenridge Grand Vacations for making this possible.”
“We are grateful to partner with Mountain Towns to welcome onboard representatives from these three great communities so they may attend this year’s summit and contribute to important climate conversations,” said Ryan Spies, managing director of sustainability at Alaska Airlines. “Mountain towns represent an important part of Alaska Airlines’ network in California, the Pacific Northwest and across the United States and we look forward to engaging with communities large and small on climate solutions.”
“We’re proud to support the MT2030 Elevate Scholarship, alongside MT2030 and Alaska Airlines. At Breckenridge Grand Vacations, we’re excited for this incredible opportunity to come together to learn, connect, and share ideas that will help our mountain communities thrive sustainably for years to come” – Justine Zawatski, Philanthropy Manager, Breckenridge Grand Vacations.
The MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit, held October 7-8, 2025 brings together mountain communities, resorts, policymakers, nonprofits, and corporate leaders to accelerate climate action across North America. By sharing best practices, aligning strategies, and building new partnerships, the Summit empowers local leaders to implement ambitious, science-based climate goals.
For more information about the MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit, please visit mt2030.org.
Media Contact:
Chris Steinkamp
Executive Director
Mountain Towns 2030
chris@mt2030.org (303) 815-2057
Take Action Now: Protect Our Tax Incentives
Last week, 31 mountain community leaders sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to protect the IRA tax incentives in the current budget negotiations. It is a powerful message from communities that are feeling the impacts of climate change every day.
The tax incentives, introduced as part of the historic Inflation Reduction Act, provide valuable funding to help communities upgrade local infrastructure with clean energy projects, create jobs and strengthen our local economies, while also providing financial relief to residents and building climate resiliency in some of the most vulnerable, front-line climate communities.
If the tax credits are substantially changed or repealed, the Mountain West stands to lose over $36 billion in investment and over 36,000 jobs.
Now, it’s your turn! Please take a moment to call your Representative to let them know how critical it is to protect these tax credits in the current budget conversations. Your voice matters and will provide real-world context to how truly important these tax credits are to their constituents.
Making a call to your Congressperson’s office is very easy, and it matters. The person who picks up will typically be a staff assistant or an intern, or you may need to leave a voicemail. Calls are tracked by staff and reported to the Congressperson daily so the more calls that are made on this issue, the more powerful the message will be to act.
The budget reconciliation process is happening on in the House of Representatives right now, so please make a quick call or leave a message today. Two easy steps:
- Use this tool to find your Representative and their phone number:
https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
Members of Congress have both DC and district offices. Many times, district offices have a lower call volume, meaning you may be more likely to speak with a staff member from their local district office than if you were to call their DC office. Or please call both! - Feel free to use these talking points:
- My name is xxx and I live in xxxx and I am a constituent of Representative xxxx.
- Tell them a bit about you – are you a small business owner? A homeowner with kids?
- As you know, The stakes are particularly high for mountain towns. Shorter winters, drought conditions, and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns have strained our economies, making it more important than ever to ensure our local economies remain resilient. Our communities cannot afford uncertainty about energy costs or infrastructure investment.
- I am calling today to let you know how important the clean energy tax credits are to me and my community.
- Specifically, as budget conversations are taking place, we ask you to protect the residential tax credits—the 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit and the 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit. By taking full advantage of these two credits, the average single-family homeowner would save $1,880 per year, cutting energy bills by two-thirds.
- I also ask you to preserve direct pay provisions such as the 45W Commercial Clean Vehicles Credit, the 30C Alternative Refueling Property Credit, and the 48E Clean Electricity Investment Credit have enabled our towns to upgrade municipal vehicle fleets, build refueling stations, and develop electricity generation projects that stabilize long-term energy costs.
- Rolling back these incentives would introduce significant uncertainty for households, small businesses, and local governments alike, stalling projects that are already underway and limiting future investment opportunities.
- If the tax credits are substantially changed or repealed, the Mountain West stands to lose over $36 billion in investment and over 36,000 jobs.
- I respectfully urge you to preserve these important tax credits and, likewise, to avoid any measures that would weaken or otherwise limit the impact of these provisions on our economies. Doing so will ensure continued economic prosperity, energy affordability, and job creation in our communities.
- Thank you very much for your time and if Congressman/Congresswoman xxx would like to discuss this in more detail, please reach out anytime.
- My name is xxx and I live in xxxx and I am a constituent of Representative xxxx.
Thank you for taking the time to make a call, we truly appreciate it. Once you do, please report back to us and let us know how it went at info@mt2030.org.
31 Mountain Community Leaders Send Letter to Congress: “Protect Our Tax Incentives”
This week, we sent a letter to the House Ways & Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and key Congressional staff, signed by 31 mountain community leaders, urging them to protect the IRA tax incentives that have been so valuable to our communities. “We, the 31 undersigned local leaders from mountain and rural communities, write to urge you to preserve critical tax incentives that strengthen our communities’ economies and electrical grids, support local job creation, and provide financial relief to our residents.”
Thank you to everyone who joined this letter. We appreciate your leadership and MT2030 will continue to elevate our voices to elected officials until these critical tax incentives are protected.
The MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit/Press Recap
What a week we had! Thank you for joining us at the MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit, we’re still buzzing from the energy that you all brought to Breckenridge last week. We truly appreciate you taking the time to be there and hope that you found the Summit inspirational, informative, and most importantly, helpful.
Thank you to all of our Summit corporate partners and host communities, we truly appreciate your generous support and partnership. And a very special thank you to the Town of Breckenridge for welcoming us all into your beautiful community.As I mentioned during my opening remarks, our goal from the onset was to create an event that provided you with actionable tools, resources, and a collaborative platform to help you accelerate your climate action plans back home. I hope we achieved that.
After three years apart, there was a powerful and exciting energy amongst us all that reminded me that we are definitely all in this together; communities, resorts, businesses, nonprofits, and community leaders working together to protect our communities against the shared impacts of climate change to build a new, clean energy economy and bright future for our children. This unified voice is our secret weapon against the climate crisis and we’re excited to build on this momentum until we meet again. More on that soon!
Thank you for your willingness to be present, share ideas, and collaborate with colleagues on solutions to help drive this movement of mountain communities forward. It was great to see you all and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Chris Steinkamp
Director, MT2030
Press:
Vail Daily | Mountain Towns Summit aids Eagle with its net-zero game plan
Summit Daily | Last day of mountain town climate summit is all about urgency
Aspen Daily News | Locals ramp up climate activism
Unofficial Networks | Summit Brings Colorado Ski Resorts & Town Officials Together To Fight Climate Change
The Aspen Times | Answer to climate crisis is action, leaders say at Summit
NBC News:
Mountain Towns 2030 Welcomes Industry Leaders for September Climate Solutions Summit
Registration is now open for the MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit – Breckenridge
PARK CITY, Utah (Aug. 30, 2022) – Mountain Towns 2030 is proud to announce the return of the MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit, the annual gathering of key stakeholders from mountain and outdoor communities working together to implement bold ideas to meet the zero-carbon commitment. Taking place in Breckenridge, Colorado on September 20-22, this year’s Summit will bring together local government elected officials, staff and sustainability teams, ski resorts, business and community leaders, and nonprofits for three days of keynotes, conversations and hands-on workshops with some of our nation’s foremost climate, community and business voices. The Summit will be held at Breckenridge’s Riverwalk Center and at various small group locations throughout the Breckenridge Downtown Arts District.
The unique format of the Summit will facilitate conversation, collaboration and action. Following the first day of passionate keynotes and climate conversations, the second day of the Summit is devoted to collaborative workshops with experts and peers to provide tools and tangible solutions to tackle some of the toughest climate challenges facing our mountain communities.
Attendees will leave the Summit with a renewed perspective of what real climate leadership is, as well as a network of colleagues and the tools that will accelerate their climate action planning.
The Summit will feature a number of prominent speakers including keynotes from Dr. Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University and Pete McBride, National Geographic Photographer and Filmmaker. Featured speakers also include: Sam Adams, the former Mayor of Portland, Sara Axelrod, Director of Sustainability at the Ball Corporation, Rob Thomas, co-founder of Climate Candidates, as well as many others.
“We are incredibly excited to bring the MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit to Breckenridge,” said Luke Cartin, Mountain Towns 2030’s co-founder. “The opportunity to convene such a large and diverse group of community leaders to collaborate on real climate solutions is so important, now more than ever.”
MT2030 is proudly sponsored by the Alterra Mountain Company, Boyne Resorts, Powdr, Vail Resorts, as well as Hosts Communities, the Town of Breckenridge, Town of Frisco, Summit County, and the towns of Dillon, Silverthorne and Blue River.
For more information about the MT2030 Climate Solutions Summit and to check out the Summit agenda, speakers, and to register, please click here.
About Mountain Towns 2030
Mountain Towns 2030 (MT2030) empowers mountain and outdoor communities to accelerate their progress to zero carbon emissions by uniting diverse stakeholders, providing the forum for collaboration, and placing actionable and proven tools in the hands of community leaders. Founded in Park City, UT in 2019, the organization has built a movement of mountain communities all facing similar impacts and a feeling sense of urgency from the increasing threat of climate change. By sharing expertise, tools, and data, we are building capacity in communities where it otherwise did not exist and accelerating our collective action towards a zero-carbon future. For more information, visit MT2030.org.
Media Contact:
Marisa Dobrot | Verde Brand Communications
marisa@verdepr.com
(505) 917-5866