NAPA VALLEY, Calif., June 21, 2007 - Napa Valley's Silverado Resort was a leader in the area of sustainable cuisine long before the term was widely known. The resort continually adds to its sustainable cuisine offerings and is active in a variety of organizations dedicated to educating consumers about the importance of eating foods harvested in environmentally sustainable ways.

Silverado took a giant step six years ago when it introduced an aggressive seafood policy that promoted the use of sustainable seafood in the Grill at Silverado and the Royal Oak restaurants. An active member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, the resort began recommending to its patrons fish from Marine Stewardship Council-certified sustainable fisheries and those that were harvested using sustainable practices, following guidelines developed by the Seafood Watch protocol and the Audubon Society's Living Oceans Seafood Guide. In addition, the resort stopped serving four species of seafood - Chilean Sea Bass, Atlantic Swordfish, Blue Fin Tuna and Shark - because the survival of those species is threatened by over-fishing, or they are harvested in ways that damage the environment.

In 2005, executive chef Peter Pahk added Certified Angus Natural Beef (CABR Natural Beef) to its sustainable cuisine offerings in the acclaimed Royal Oak and The Grill at Silverado. That addition was made in May just a few weeks after the beef became available in the United States.

At the time, the resort was the sole location in Napa Valley to offer the beef from Angus-type cattle, which is raised without supplemental hormones, antibiotics or animal byproducts. The beef must meet premium quality standards confirmed by USDA graders before it earns the CAB Natural designation.

Operated by Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Silverado is the only resort in Napa Valley to become a member of the Chef's Collaborative -- a national network of more than 1,000 members of the food community who promote sustainable cuisine. The Chef's Collaborative educates chefs and consumers about local sustainable products and practices and also works to improve the quality and taste of sustainable food products.

"It has long been our goal to not only serve environmentally appropriate cuisine offerings but also to educate our guests and employees about the reasons behind those decisions," said Pahk. "Balancing availability, food cost and guest preferences is always a challenge, but we have found that our guests are particularly receptive when we explain that the choices they make can directly affect the health of the planet."

Pahk is one of eight Napa Valley chefs participating in "Renewing America's Food Traditions (RAFT) Grow-Out," a program of Slow Food USA in partnership with the Chef's Collaborative. The program encourages small, independent farmers to grow heirloom fruits and vegetables in exchange for guaranteed purchase by member chefs.

The Silverado Resort's other sustainable cuisine practices include:
* Serving wild Alaska salmon instead of farmed salmon. The resort's operator, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, was the first U.S. hospitality company to be granted the "Chain of Custody" certification from the Marine Stewardship Council. This important certification guarantees all wild Alaska salmon menu items can be traced to their source, assuring consumers that the salmon is from a fishery that has met the Marine Stewardship Council's stringent environmental standards. When wild Alaska salmon is not available, the resort uses Arctic char instead.

* The resort also was the first in Napa Valley to recycle biodegradable food scraps as part of its comprehensive recycling program.

* In support of its seafood policy, hosting a weekly "Seafood Watch Night" featuring a variety of dishes with sustainable seafood.

* Featuring Kurobuta Pork from Heritage Foods USA and Masami True Natural Kobe-style Beef. Both products are produced using all-natural production methods. Kurobuta Pork is raised on small family farms in the Midwest without using hormones, antibiotics, extenders, sodium or added water. Kobe Beef cattle are raised in a natural environment and fed a varied diet of barley, golden wheat, straw, alfalfa hay and Idaho potatoes. Their feeding program runs three times longer than traditional beef and is hormone free.

* Joining Slow Food USA, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating the food traditions of North America

* Becoming the first resort in Napa Valley to use the local recycling company - Napa Valley Recycling - to pick up biodegradable food scraps as part of its comprehensive recycling program. The resort also has begun composting food scraps.

* Serving wine produced by members of the Napa Sustainable Wine Growers, a group of winemakers in Napa Valley who adhere to a variety of strict sustainable practices.

* Serving abalone produced by Abalone Farm, a California facility that uses state-of-the-art sustainable practices. Due to the rapid decline in the coastal wild abalone population, commercial abalone diving is illegal in U.S. waters. Abalone Farm operates an aquaculture facility that grows abalone without harming the earth's natural resources.

* Implementing a Foodservice Energy Awareness Program that teaches all of the resort's foodservice employees to participate in energy conservation in a variety of ways.

* Planting an on-site herb garden to supply herbs for cuisine served in the Royal Oak and Grill at Silverado.

* Educating guests about sustainable foods served at the resort. Chef Pahk developed a comprehensive training program that includes listings of all of the resort's sustainable partners, and specific information about sustainable offerings is included during the daily lineup. As a result of this and other guest service programs, the resort's guest comment cards show an 86 percent "excellent" rating.

* Developing a Green Procurement program to ensure all paper products are biodegradable and chemicals used in the company's foodservice operations are environmentally sound. As part of Xanterra's Ecologix environmental management system, all foodservice operations also participate fully in recycling and waste reduction programs.

The resort's sustainable food innovations have garnered national attention, and the resort and Chef Pahk have received numerous awards in recognition of its leadership. Pahk was the recipient of the first Chef Greens Award from the Green Awards Committee from Napa's Vintage High School, the 2005 and 2006 People's Choice award-winner and the 2006 Critic's Choice award-winner at the Napa Valley Mustard Festival; and a participant in the James Beard Chef awards.

Xanterra Parks & ResortsR (consisting of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. and Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C.) operates lodges, restaurants and other concessions at national parks and state parks and resorts. Xanterra Parks & Resorts is the country's largest park concessioner. Xanterra operates concessions in the following locations: Yellowstone, the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Rocky Mountain and Petrified Forest National Parks, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial; and at the Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif.; Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and eight Ohio State Parks. Its affiliate Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C. operates concessions at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Xanterra owns and operates the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, Ariz.

Long committed to the preservation and protection of the environment, Ecologix, Xanterra Parks & Resorts' environmental program, includes a variety of proactive environmental stewardship programs in each location. Xanterra has been repeatedly recognized for its environmental leadership in the hospitality industry and is the recipient of many honors, including major awards from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Travel Industry Association, Colorado Department of Public Health, State of Arizona, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

For more information about Xanterra, links to individual properties and reservations numbers, visit www.xanterra.com.