Commitment to Conservation
During new resort developments, Bellstar is committed to leading multi-faceted environmental site mitigation:
At one of our resort developments:
- The parking lot has been designed with a gravel finish and French drains. This allows for water infiltration back to the ground and controls run-off, providing improved water management for the area, as opposed to piping storm water away and needing to replace it later for landscaping requirements.
- Another part of xeriscaping includes a process whereby any plants that are disturbed during the construction are replanted elsewhere in the region or around the resort.
- The region is well know for its observatories, so all exterior lighting is designed to be “down” or “directional” in order to minimize the impact on the night sky.
- The final phase of the project is being built near dens and migratory corridors for significant numbers of gopher snakes and rattlesnakes, both endangered species. To protect this fragile eco-system, we are developing measures to create a resort that co-exists with these and many other species of wildlife in the area; specifically:
- Funding and participating in ongoing monitoring of snakes and their activity around the site before, during, and after construction.
- Selling bottled water and donating a portion of the proceeds to fund the Nk’Mip Rattlesnake Research Program (over $460 in the first few months).
- Implementing measures such as a specialized exclusion system around the site and in the units to prevent human and snake interaction.
- Constructing a permanent deflection fence and a specialized safe crossing corridor on for the snakes as they move through the area.
- Fostering learning and education about these species and the special nature of the desert ecosystem they inhabit.
- Creating habitat features to provide additional protection to female snakes using nearby terraces for gestation in the summer months.
- Building a specialized bat house (or roost) for the two species of endangered bats have been identified to provide them a secure resting place.
- Reducing our allowed building area and setting aside valuable desert habitat for preservation from additional development.
