A new analysis conducted for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Protect Our Winters (POW) will detail the devastating economic impact that climate change could have on the U.S. winter tourism industry. The analysis finds that the $12.2 billion ski and snowmobile industry is dependent on heavy and predictable snowfall, and changes in the winter season snowfall have already been felt across the nation and are likely to become even more pronounced with climate change.

The NRDC/POW analysis covers all 38 states involved in the U.S. ski and snowmobile winter tourism industry.  During the Thursday news event, experts will discuss the consequences nationwide and for California, Colorado, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont and Washington state. 

The study aims to help policy makers understand both the ski and snowmobile industry's current economic scale and the potential economic impacts that climate change may cause, as well as the effects the industry is already feeling from reduced snowpack and rising winter temperatures over the last decade. Just this past ski season, 50 percent of ski resorts opened late and 48 percent closed early with every region experiencing a decrease in the days of operation. Winter sports resorts are not the only ones affected by this shift; a reduced and shortened winter season will also hurt the secondary related industries of lodging, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and entertainment.