Throughout the renaissance of The Oasis at Death Valley (The Inn at Death Valley; The Ranch at Death Valley; and the Furnace Creek Golf Course at Death Valley), sustainability is a critical goal as it ramps into Xanterra's mantra of “Legendary Hospitality with a Softer Footprint.” View the company's sustainability report at www.xanterra.com/sustainability.

It's important to note that The Inn has existed at the oasis since the late 1920s, as has the golf course in one form or another. The Mission Gardens and The Inn Pool Amenity structures are actually repurposed buildings. The new buildings at The Ranch are being built to modern standards (the originals dated back to the late 1940s and 1950s) on the same footprint.

Water Conservation

Due to the sensitive nature of The Oasis, water conservation has been a priority during design and construction. The ancient waters that create the true American oasis at Furnace Creek and The Oasis at Death Valley literally bubble up from the earth and have been there for centuries. It's a natural, thermal spring that the Native Americans, Prospectors, and Borax Company knew about and prized, as does Xanterra and its guests do today. The following are some of the sustainable water features used to aggressively maintain the existing water footprint:

• The Oasis at Death Valley utilizes the same limited amount of precious water as before the renaissance. Thanks to new building technology and advances in environmental sustainability, more water is captured and repurposed before its eventual, and natural, release into the desert and environment.
• Please note that all drinking (potable) water is actually piped in via the National Park Service and treated to meet all applicable California drinking water standards and laws.
• All fixtures selected are low-flow compliant with CALgreen requirements including kitchen equipment.
• Installation of new drip irrigation to all plantings and turf areas. Zoned by plant type (shrub, palm, desert tree, olive, etc.), water requirement, planting bed exposure.
• High-efficiency (condensing) boiler and water heating equipment was installed.
• Water conservation at the Golf Course includes the following features:
• Installation of a new irrigation central computer control system that allows for single head control for each of the valve in head sprinklers.
• Installation of a Reinforced Polyethylene (RPE) lake liner at the irrigation pond eliminates water loss tens of thousands of gallons of water through seepage allowing the water to be repurposed.
• Golf Course turf area has been reduced by 13.70 acres.
• Regionally appropriate desert plantings have been planted in the turf reduction areas and drip irrigated.
• Drip stations are zoned to allow for irrigation of the desert trees and desert shrubs on separate valves matching irrigation requirements to plant types.

Sample Sustainable Features of The Inn:

• Increased efficiency and tightness of existing envelopes designed to meet and exceed CA Title 24 requirements – reducing energy loss and air/moisture transmittance.
• Windows selected have Auralast treatment, which is certified as low VOC (volatile organic compounds). Windows are constructed of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) wood. Glazing is Low E 366 with superior U-values, shading coefficients, and visible transmittance to ensure energy savings, and increased comfort level. They will meet or exceed CA Title 24 requirements.
• Low VOC interior paint used.
• Carpet, where used, meets CALGreen requirements and Rug Institute Green Label Plus.
• Wood flooring, where used, meets FSC Certification.
• Quarry tile, where used, meets CALGreen requirements.

Lighting

All lighting used was selected based upon design, energy efficiency and impact to protect Night Skies. Specifics include:

• Low wattage, energy efficient LED or compact fluorescent light sources are installed in each luminaire on site for improved energy savings.
• All sources have a warm color temperature (CCT) of 2700K, or lower, to reduce light pollution, protect the night skies and provide for visual comfort. The 2700K LEDs also reduce blue light introduction into the nighttime environment, which protects the natural habitat, animal nighttime patterns, and the human circadian rhythm.
• Uplight from all luminaires has been minimized to reduce light pollution and to meet Dark Sky Park, California Title 24, and Cal Green requirements for Lighting Zone LZ2.
• Existing luminaire locations are being reused when possible to minimize additional conduit and wire so that less new materials are used.
• All luminaires are dimmable to allow for light level reductions due to time of day and usage, minimizing the effect on the nighttime environment.
• Pole and luminaire finishes are low reflectance to reduce or eliminate brightness and glare.