Stats for the State of Vermont Certified Signature Sanctuaries: 1

Stowe Mountain Club Golf Course
Situated adjacent to Spruce Hamlet at the base of Pinnacle Peak in Stowe, Vermont, and located entirely within the West Branch (Winooski River) watershed, the 175-acre, 18-hole Bob Cupp-designed mountainside golf course includes an eight-acre pond, 2800 linear feet of stream shoreline and 15-acres of wetlands.  Elevation of the site ranges from 1450 at the sixteenth green to 1900 feet at the fifth fairway.

Two waterways flow through the course including Big Spruce Brook which enters the site between the back and middle tees of the 4^th hole at an elevation of 1750 ft. and an unnamed tributary that flows along the left side of the 5^th hole between the 6^th tees and fairway where it drains into a wetland.  A 110 million gallon storage pond called Peregrine Lake is fed by the West Branch of the Little River and stores golf course irrigation water which is also used to make snow during the ski season.  Unique to the Signature Program is a comfort station located behind the 13^th tee and equipped with composting toilet and with solar panels that power both the lighting and the composting at the station.

Through two conservation easements donated to the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, over 2000 acres of habitat was set aside for Black Bear habitat to the east of the property for permanent protection as a part of Spruce Peak development.  Included in protected acreage is 10 acres of summit ski terrain on Spruce Peak that has been restored to a natural state providing critical habitat for the Bicknell’s Thrush, a species of special concern.   A major stream restoration project was undertaken to realign the main stem of Big Spruce Brook and restore the stream banks on the 3^rd hole.  It included tree removal for bridge installation, removing an existing culvert, recreation of stream channel and stream banks, installing pilings, and landscaping the new stream banks.

On May 12, 2007, Stowe Mountain Club Golf Course became the first Certified Signature Sanctuary in the state of Vermont.  For more information about Stowe Mountain Club, visit their website at www.stowemountainclub.com