Washington Business Winter 2018 | Washington Business | Page 35

sustainability
employer: Suncadia Resort
Suncadia Resort
location: Cle Elum
number of employees: 500-plus
website: suncadia.com
Part of the Destination Hotel collection, Suncadia Resort
boasts more than 300 sunny days each year and a solid
reputation for conservation and environmental stewardship.
the company: Suncadia Resort, located in Cle Elum, is a 6,400-acre, all-
season resort that was built on the site of a former coalmine. Surrounded
by the Cascade mountain range, the resort is home to hundreds of different
wildlife species. It is the only property of its kind in the nation that includes
the abundance of acreage, resort offerings, home ownership, residential
community and forest and wildlife conservancy.
innovative environmental stewardship: Through the Suncadia
Land Stewardship Management Plan, the resort has set aside more than
3,400 acres of open land for a wildlife preserve running along the banks of
the Cle Elum River. The property has 1.3 million trees to manage within the
river corridor and other open space that, together, make up 4,400 acres of
the resort property. These protected land set-asides are home to more than
180 species of birds and 40 species of mammals as well as myriad reptiles
and amphibians. The Cle Elum River that runs through the resort supports
the local salmon and other fish populations. Each property owner also
contributes by maintaining a natural area that supports wildlife habitat and
the preservation of native plant species.
in their own words: “Suncadia strives to provide a diverse forested
environment by using the latest research and carrying out the best forest
health and wildlife practices. We look at the past and the future to see what
is needed throughout the community and have been able to tap information
that dates back to the 1800s to see what would have occurred naturally and
then compare it to our current conditions. This allows us to project upwards
of 20 to 100 years in to the future to see if our goal of providing a diverse
and safe forested environment will be met. The efforts we put in now are the
building blocks of the legacy we will leave for future generations.”
— Tony Walter Craven, Natural Resource Operations Manager,
Suncadia Resort
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