Preservation &
Conservation
Living Light On The Land
Marabou’s core philosophies are centered on land stewardship, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and environmental education. This all-encompassing level of commitment ensures the natural beauty of Marabou’s Colorado mountain ranch setting is preserved, the natural wildlife habitats are enhanced and wildlife carrying capacity is increased.
Preserving the Habitat
Marabou cultivates a community where families live in harmony with the land’s original residents for generations to come. Preservation efforts are in place to protect the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse lek and elk calving area, as well as the critical elk winter range. The ranch incorporates wildlife-friendly fencing, and provides mountain shrub habitat and breeding ground for grouse and big game. Seventy-five percent of the land will remain open and ranched. The riparian corridor has very few man-made structures and the wildlife-carrying capacity of the ranch has increased. The cattle are fenced out of the riparian area, allowing a resurgence of native cottonwoods.
Our Footprint
By incorporating green building technologies, a “light-on-the-land” master plan that clusters luxury ranch home sites for sale and maximizes open space preservation with green agricultural ranch operations, and by using 100% renewable energy certificates, Marabou has achieved a carbon neutral footprint. By successfully balancing release and reduction, Marabou has actually attained a reduced carbon contribution of minus 1,059,965 pounds. Best available technology was used to quantify Marabou’s carbon contribution and carbon reduction values, which were then validated with current experts in the field.
Marabou is a model for green agricultural ranch property operations, incorporating rotational grazing which is better for the land and better for the animals. It’s also much better for people: grass-finished cattle are fattened on natural forage, not in feed lots. No hormones or antibiotics are used, yielding healthier cattle that are healthier to consume.
It's easy being Green
All of Marabou’s amenity buildings have achieved a Built Green® average of 140 points, incorporating recycled building materials, energy efficiency, electricity from clean renewable wind power, use of materials that promote improved indoor environmental quality, and environmentally conscious landscaping practices. The minimum requirement was 72 points. Because Marabou recognizes the importance of today’s emphasis on green building, Design Guidelines were developed using green design building guidelines throughout the ranch community.
Marabou Ranch was the first Steamboat Springs business to receive Gold Planet Certification for green and sustainable leadership practices. In October 2007, Marabou received the “Sustainable Business Award” from the Steamboat Chamber of Commerce. The EPA honored Elk River Partners with their Green Power Leadership award for exemplary green power procurement.
Building for tomorrow
Building a sustainable tomorrow requires a plan for today and foresight for the future. Stringent environmental guidelines have been built into the long-term vision of Marabou and will be upheld for years to come. Perhaps Marabou’s biggest legacy will be to create a new sustainability model for other national and Colorado ranch property developments through leading by example.