Page 29 - March 2008 • Southern California Gaming Guide

The Barona Creek Golf Club was honored as a Certi ed Signature Sanctuary by Audubon International.
resort and casino. e light bulbs that are in use also produce less heat, reducing the need to use more air conditioning throughout interior spaces. As a result, energy consumption decreases in more than one way. e energy-saving lights used in resort and casino o ce areas re ect and magnify natural light and make it possible to use less electrical lighting, or even to eliminate it during daytime hours. Finally, anyone who has been on the course of the Barona Creek Golf Club may have noticed that the only lighting in its comfort stations comes from skylights.
Getting around the property is an environmentally friendly process, as the Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino makes use of electric cars and vehicles to reduce the amount of fuel consumption and emissions in the area.
To help alleviate tra c congestion in San Diego and surrounding counties, Barona o ers daily shuttle service from throughout San Diego County for employees and guests. In 2006 alone, Barona transported half million plus passengers. e program to promote and support its carpool and shuttle services to come to the resort and casino earned Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino the SANDAG (San Diego Association of Governments) Diamond Award in 2005 and in 2007.
Continuing Traditions—Landscaping and Wildlife Preservation
e Barona Valley is home to a wide range of native wildlife, all of which are treated with great respect in keeping with the traditions and beliefs of the Barona Band of Mission Indians. e shores of streams and other bodies of water in the Barona Valley provide
nesting areas for a variety of birds, and the design of the Barona Creek Golf Club’s 18-hole course conserves the beauty of the natural setting for its guests at the same time as it safeguards the habitats of native birds and animals. Around the resort and casino and on the Barona Creek Golf Club property, these wildlife areas are identi ed and shielded from both foot tra c and equipment. Birds or animals that might be potentially harmful to guests are carefully relocated to areas within the valley that are both safe and compatible with their needs for survival. No pesticides or harmful chemicals come in contact with any living creature on the property. Barona’s gardeners and landscapers go so far as to us non-toxic soaps to clear plants of insects, and most weeds are pulled by hand.
Barona has even paid special attention to the choice of plants on the Barona Creek Golf Club course and around the resort and casino. Wherever possible, native grasses cover open spaces between the fairways. e playing areas themselves are covered with Bermuda
grass, which is tolerant of California drought conditions. Native oak trees, able to endure and even prosper through lengthy droughts are an important part of the landscape,
while water hazards serve as retention basins for water, making them an important feature of the Barona water reclamation program.
is cycle of activity in
support of the natural world of
the Barona Valley takes us back
to the beginning of the story. Today
the Barona Band of Mission Indians
still holds the prestigious designation that
they received in 2002. at year, in recognition of the outstanding environmental practices of the Tribe and the resort, the Barona Creek Golf Club was honored as a Certified Signature Sanctuary by Audubon International. Four years later, in 2006, San Diego Earth Works gave the
Tribe an Environmental Achievement Earth Award.
Barona’s reclamation facility is considered one of the most progressive treatment plants in Southern California, more advanced even than most municipal and private industry facilities.
In her thanks for receiving that honor, Rhonda Welch-Scalco, Chairwoman of the Barona Band of Mission Indians, recalled the heritage of her ancestors.
“Our tribe has an historic legacy of protecting and living in harmony with nature and
the environment,” she said.
Since the Tribe rst settled
on the Barona Ranch in 1932 in the valley that is a part of the traditional lands of their forefathers, the leaders and members of the Barona Band of Mission Indians, along with everyone who works today at the Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino, have
supported and upheld that legacy. One tribe. One resort and casino.
And many programs with one goal: To value and honor the natural environment
that surrounds and sustains them—and us.
Anna Tennant is a travel writer and regular contributor to the Southern California Gaming Guide.
Barona Band of Mission Indians Green Certi cations and Awards
National Clean Water Act Recognition Award—
2007—Small Advanced Plant Category, Second Place for water reclamation and wastewater treatment facilities presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Audubon International Certi ed Signature Sanctuary from 2002 to 2007 Barona Creek Golf Club has been designated for its environmental sustainability practices.
SANDAG Diamond Award 2007 and 2005 for actively participating in and promoting commuter transportation alternatives to employees.
Allied Waste Environmental Recycler Award— 2006 and 2005
Earth Award 2006—presented by San Diego EarthWorks for water resource management practices.
Legacy Fibers International Recycling Recognition Award—2005
Environmental Leaders in Golf Award, National Resort Course Winner—2004 presented by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and by Golf Digest to Barona Creek Golf Club and Golf Course Superintendent Sandy Clark, for commitment to environmental stewardship.
March 2008
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Page 29