Press Room
Press Release Archive- NEW 2008-2009 Media Kit
- Stowe Mountain Lodge Opens
- New Luxury Lodge and Summer Attractions Open in Stowe
- Vermont Culinary Classic
- 'Last Trick' Rail Jam
- Spruce Peak at Stowe Earns Audubon Planning Award
- Ski & Ride Stowe for $20 on 4/20
- March in Stowe – Winter at Its Peak
- Billabong Flaunt It Series Comes to Stowe, VT
- Stowe is Buried in Snow - Ski Area Off to Its Best Start in a Decade
- NATIONAL ICE CARVING COMPETITION COMES TO STOWE
- Stowe Mountain Resort Receives the 2007 ASDSO Northeast Regional Award of Merit for Dam Safety
- CONSTRUCTION HAS BEGUN ON SPRUCE BASE CAMP IN STOWE
- NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS RECOGNIZE STOWE VERMONT AS ONE IN 1,000 AND ONE IN 100
- STOWE MOUNTAIN CLUB EARNS AUDUBON INTERNATIONAL SIGNATURE SANCTUARY CERTIFICATION
- Mailing List/Contact
STOWE MOUNTAIN CLUB EARNS AUDUBON INTERNATIONAL SIGNATURE SANCTUARY CERTIFICATION
Jeff Wise, Communications Director, Stowe Mountain Resort, jwise@stowe.com, 802-253-3437
STOWE,VERMONT - Stowe Mountain Club, Spruce Peak at Stowe’s new golf course,has earned the prestigious Audubon Signature Sanctuary Certificationfrom Audubon International, a non-profit environmental organizationheadquartered in New York State.
Members of Audubon International’s Signature Programs are eligible forcertification which recognizes that the project has been successfullydesigned, constructed, and managed with a comprehensive approach toenvironmental protection. Stowe Mountain Club becomes the first golfcourse in Vermont and one of only 63 golf courses in the world tobecome an Audubon Signature Sanctuary.
“Stowe Mountain Club is the result of careful planning, years ofdevelopment, and coordination with all of Vermont’s major environmentalorganizations,” said Walter Frame, operations manager for Spruce Peakat Stowe. “Now, as the course finally opens, we’re proud to offer atruly unique and natural experience for our club members, and lookforward to participating in continued sustainable development programswith Audubon International,” Frame said.
Stowe Mountain Club’s environmental accomplishments include:
• Establishment of a 750+ acre wildlife conservation easement surrounding the golf course.
• Phased construction was established in order to limit areas ofdisturbance. Tree clearing was conducted during two winter seasons tominimize the potential for soil erosion and riparian protection areaswere established.
• A native wildflower seed mix was used in many out of play areas toprovide a food source for native animal species and to decrease thepotential for the introduction of invasive plant species.
• A 200 foot section of Big Spruce Brook along the 3rd hole wasrestored to its natural condition and the culvert replaced with abridge improving fish passage and normal stream flows.
• Turfgrass for greens, tees, fairways and rough was selected for theirhigh levels of pest resistence and ability to thrive at high elevationsin order to promote dense growth.
• An inovative Integrated Pest Management Plan is in place thatincorporates cultural, biological, and extremely limited chemicalstrategies to manage the turf grass of the golf course.
• Golf course irrigation is provided by recycled stormwater, that hasbeen collected in the main Stowe Mountain Resort snowmaking reservoir -Peregrine Lake.
• Stringent construction storm water management and use of recycled storm water for snowmaking in winter.
• Two new wetlands were created near the new snowmaking reservoir tohelp filter drainage from the golf course before entering the reservoir.
• The construction process of this new mountain golf course resulted inover 175 acres without any significant erosion or discharges. TheNatural Intergrated Pest Management Plan limits the use of pesticidesor herbicides.
• Over two years of growing took place to insure healthy turf that would be more resistent to disease.
• Regular water quality monitoring was established to insure the integrity of adjacnet streams and wetlands.
• Hand picking of weeds and the use of native plants; part of the Intergrated Pest Management Plan.
• A Natural Resource Management Center (Maintenance facility) was builtto ensure the highest standard of worker safety and health. Thisincludes but is not limited to; the latest technologies for equipmentwash down and wash water treatment.
“The Signature Program gives the landowner and Audubon International acommon frame of reference by which a project such as Stowe MountainClub can be planned, constructed, and managed to ensure thatbiodiversity conservation, environmental quality and sustainableresource management are built into the project,” explains NancyRichardson, Signature Program Director. “Working with such a dedicatedand focused group of people was truly a pleasure. The result is aproject that exemplifies Audubon International’s principles fordeveloping and managing property where man and nature co-exist inharmony.”
About Audubon International: Audubon International is a not-for-profit501(c)3 environmental education organization dedicated to educating,assisting and inspiring millions of people from all walks of life toprotect and sustain the land, water, wildlife and natural resourcesaround them. Web site - www.auduboninternational.org
About Stowe Mountain Club: The stunning Stowe Mountain Club golfcourse, set to open in June 2007, positions Stowe, Vermont as afour-season destination like none other. Created by renowned golfcourse designer Bob Cupp; the 18-hole, par 72 “wilderness” course windsdramatically along the lower reaches of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peakto an elevation of more than 1800 feet. Available exclusively to clubmembers, as well as guests of Stowe Mountain Lodge, the resort courseoffers stunning mountain views of Mt. Mansfield, Spruce Peak and theWorcester Range. The club is a key component of Spruce Peak at Stowe;which is being developed by AIG Global Real Estate. The projectfeatures fine residences, a new luxury hotel called Stowe MountainLodge, a world-class spa and wellness center, performing arts center, adining and retail esplanade, swimming pool and ice skating rink. Theenvironmentally sound development was started in 2003, and isconcentrated on only 35 of 2,000 pristine acres. Website - www.sprucepeak.com
# # #
