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DANBURY, NH - Trails blanketed with packed snow wind down Ragged Mountain, flanked on either side by rows of tall, green evergreen and pine trees. From above, you can barely see the base lodge where skiers gather before and after a day on the slopes. And the tracts of land near the base of the mountain - 18 golf holes - blend into the landscape.

The new owners of Ragged Mountain Resort would like to keep it that way. Despite their plans to spend millions of dollars on revamping the golf course, renovating and expanding the resort buildings and developing hundreds of slopeside homes, they plan to work with some of the top land planners and conservationists in the country to do it in an environmentally responsible way.They also hope to become the first property in New Hampshire certified by Audubon International's Signature Program, which will guide the resort's land planners through the design and construction phase of the expansion and help them protect the mountain's wildlife, habitat and natural resources.

Gerald Jackson, one of the three principals of the company that bought the resort last year, said participating in the program is "just good business.""It's totally compatible with our vision, which is to take good care of the land and to promote biodiversity and ecosystem management and to restore whatever damage has been done in the past," Jackson said.Utah-based RMR Pacific LLC purchased Ragged Mountain in May after the previous owners narrowly avoided bankruptcy and foreclosure. The resort needed a lot of work, but Jackson and his partners had a lot of experience revamping and building ski resorts throughout the Northwest. They brought in a ski industry veteran, Bob Fries, to take over as resort president, and they sank $2 million into long overdue maintenance last summer.

As they prepared to head into the planning of the first major phase of the project - redesigning the 18-hole golf course - they decided to turn to Audubon International for guidance.The group is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society, which focuses on bird conservation, but rather is a land stewardship program that promotes sustainability. (The group is one of several that has branched off from the original Audubon Society.)Audubon International works with any type of land conservation group to protect properties of all types and sizes, including backyards, business properties, schools, golf courses and any type of land that is targeted for development.