The Laurance S. Rockefeller (LSR) Preserve, located in the Grand Teton National Park, is a 7,573-square-foot visitor center near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The single-story facility will be turned over to the National Park Service upon completion, which is expected in September 2007. Two hundred and sixty visitors are expected to visit the building daily, to learn about the park and chart their visit. Expecting to earn all 17 LEED energy points, the building is targeting Platinum certification. This project, which aligns the mission of the National Park Service with the performance of NPS facilities, truly exemplifies sustainable design.

The key energy efficiency measures for the LSR Preserve are: 10.0 kW Photovoltaic system; envelope insulation levels higher than required; low U-factor insulating glazing units; high-performance lighting with occupancy and daylighting controls; high-performance ground-source heat pump; and night flushing ventilation strategy. These strategies account for a 84.28 percent reduction in energy use and an annual savings of $2,000/yr (relative to a budget building).

Employees of the NPS who work on site, visitors to the center, and US taxpayers.

Individuals can expect to enjoy a naturally lit and healthier (low to no VOC's, no urea-formaldehyde resins) interior space. Society gains from the establishment of a visitor center which will educate the public on the benefits of green building and energy conservation. Reduced government spending and the increased investment in the green energy, green materials, and green construction industries will benefit the national economy. The environment will benefit from reduced carbon emissions, reduced resource extraction, reduced water consumption, diverted waste materials and the use of recycled materials.Additionally, the LSR Preserve has implemented facilities which will eliminate wastewater generated from the 260 visitors to the site through the use of composting toilets and dry wells.

The LSR Preserve will affect the NPS, and potentially other branches of government, by establishing a precedent for future development. This precedent will show that future construction of government buildings can incorporate cutting-edge, energy-saving features while working within the parameters of established budgets/pro-formas.

Individuals will learn the benefits and ease of implementating energy saving features into new/existing buildings. The establishment of a model for future public development will serve society for years to come. By establishing a baseline for energy reduction which can be imposed on other government buildings, the government's impact on the environment will be reduced.

The LSR Preserve will reduce the consumption of carbon-based conventional energy, in turn reducing the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, as well as provide a green building educational tool/case study and a new development model for future government construction.

If commissioning results show that the energy efficiency improvement have in fact reduced the energy consumption of the building, a case can be made to implement these or similar measures into future NPS, or other government, buildings.