It's no secret that Utah has the best snow on earth. The ski industry accounts for $1.29 billion in revenue for the state of Utah, as well as 20,000 jobs. Now, Snowbird, one of the fourteen ski resorts that call Utah home, is looking to expand in American Fork Canyon. The plans, which have been twenty years in the making, include two new ski lifts towers and a summertime zipline ride tour.

According to Fox 13 News, the new zip line and two chair lifts would sit nestled in the Mary Ellen Gulch area of American Fork Canyon.

Communications Manager Brian Brown says the chair lifts would open 500 more acres of skiing, bringing the resort's total to 3,000 acres. It has been nearly seventeen years since Snowbird's last expansion project, which was Mineral Basin in 1999.

The resort is now in the process of seeking construction permits from Utah County to begin construction on their privately owned land. Several residents expressed their opinions at a hearing last week, with concerns ranging from lowering property values to environmental impacts.

If approved, Snowbird plans to have construction completed for the 2016-2017 winter season.