Davey Tree : Large Tree Moving Project Portfolio : Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort


Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort

A date palm oasis conjures up images from a tale told by Scheherazade. Death Valley brings to mind bleached bones and wrecked wagon trains.

Banish those images.

Neither describes the Death Valley that is home to the Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort. Located about 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas and on the site of a former date palm plantation, the resort is surrounded by the Death Valley National Park and includes the golf course at the lowest elevation in the world – more than 200 feet below sea level.

In one of the hottest (summer temperatures regularly exceed 120 degrees), most arid (average rainfall is less than two inches) areas of the United States, the resort’s location allows it to take advantage of natural springs to hydrate the palms and support the irrigation system for the golf greens and other plantings.

And, just as a naturally occurring water source makes irrigation possible, the available sunlight makes solar energy collection a feasible option. As plans for a solar panel array took shape, developers discovered the approximately 150 date palm trees in the area created a barrier to installation.

Joel Southall, director of environmental health and safety for the facility, wanted to save the trees because they have been there since the 1930s.

To make room for the panels, the palms were moved to new locations on the resort grounds. The Large Tree Moving Division of Davey Tree completed the relocation of the palms, some of which are as tall as 50 feet.

Dan Howse, Davey project manager, said the move began in mid-November. The palms were moved using Davey’s 105 and 90-inch spade, along with a track hoe. A five-man crew spent about a month on the project.

The Large Tree Moving crews had to utilize extra staking to counteract the high winds prevalent in the area. Howse also said that, because palms are shallow-rooted, special care was taken to stabilize them against the wind until they could acclimate to the new location.

The solar panels being erected on the grounds will generate approximately one-third of the electricity needs for the Furnace Creek complex. During the next 30 years, the emission of more than 284,000 tons of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide is expected to be eliminated.

The resort, managed by Xanterra Park and Resorts, has as a company-wide goal to reduce fossil fuel usage by 30 percent between 2000 and 2015.