Planning & Implementation
The 483-acre Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club is located in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The property fronts two miles of white sand beach. The resort received the 2008 Heritage and Sustainable Community Award from Puerto Rico Homebuilders Association, the 2009 Golf Inc. Green Award and is an Audubon International Gold Signature Sanctuary.
We developed an Ecological Land Plan that promoted sustainable practices including protected and enhanced water resources and wildlife habitat and connections within the property and to surrounding lands. An integral part of the resort is water, both freshwater lagoons and canals, and the Caribbean Sea. Enhancement of the property’s 70 acres of pristine lagoons with over 8,000 linear feet of aquatic plants added to pond banks was an important element of protecting water resources.
We established water conservation practices and water quality monitoring programs to ensure protection of all water resources including lagoons, The Caribbean, and Espiritu Santo River. This included identifying and implementing Best Management Practices that prevent the movement of storm water, sediments, and chemicals (e.g. nutrients or pesticides) into these waters and also prevented migration of these materials downward into groundwater.
We connected people to nature in the 65% of the land that is set aside as green space. For example, we developed and assisted in the implementation of Treasure Island, an environmental children’s program which is located on Lake Sabalo. More than 4,000 trees have been transplanted and more than 62,000 native plants have been added to the landscape.
We prepared and implemented a Natural Resource Management Plan that provides detailed protocols and processes for managing the residences and golf course. Ecological risk assessments were conducted to evaluate the pesticides proposed for use on the property. We selected materials that were safe for wildlife, safe for aquatic environments, and were as short lived as possible. Extensive Best Management Practices (BMP) were specified and implemented to protect soil, water, and vegetation.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies were incorporated into maintenance of the community landscape and golf course. IPM strategies reduce the need for large scale applications of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals, ensure that materials used to maintain the landscape are safe for the environment, and that materials are applied properly by trained and licensed contractors.