Golf Course Maintenance Becomes Eco-Friendly
Audubon International Program Helps Courses Protect the Environment
Dec 31, 2008
Audubon International, PGA of America, and the United States Golf Association (USGA) are working together to encourage environmental awareness and action in cooperation with the golf industry. According to the "General Information" article at golfandtheenvironment.org, golf courses contain considerable natural areas that benefit people and wildlife. But, their use of chemicals, water, and other resources threaten the quality of the environment.
Environmental Impacts From Golf Courses
Potential environmental impacts from golf courses include, according to "Golf & the Environment" fact sheet at auduboninternational.org, polluting ground and surface water from pesticide and fertilizer use, using large quantities of water, and health hazards from chemical use and handling. By making a concentrated effort to be more environmentally responsible, golf courses can make a difference by providing wildlife sanctuaries, protecting water resources, and preserving natural areas within the city.
Environmentally Responsible Fairways
Audubon International offers a program to help golf courses become more environmentally responsible. The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP-Golf) approaches environmentally responsible fairways in two ways. The program provides environmental planning assistance for golf course development and golf course design projects. According to "Golf & the Environment," these programs encourage designing golf courses with the environment in mind so that both economic and environmental objectives are met. Once the courses are finished, ACSP-Golf helps golf course management use sustainable resource techniques to protect the natural areas and wildlife habitats that the courses provide. Course managers also learn ways to protect water quality, improve overall environmental performance, and minimize any potentially harmful aspects of golf operations.
Implementing Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Programs
All types of golf courses are able to join the program, within the United States and internationally. Once a golf course becomes a program member, course managers must examine their golf course for environmental resources and potential liabilities. Course managers then use this information to develop an environmental plan. ACSP-Golf offers a form to use for assessing the course and creating the plan.
According to Anne Underwood in the April 14, 2008 Newsweek article, "10 Fixes For the Planet," it can take anywhere between one and three years for a course to complete the implementation and documentation of their plan. Once that is done, the course is eligible to be designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Audubon International requires recertification every two years. Currently there are more than 700 courses around the world that are Certified Cooperative Sanctuaries, according to "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries" on auduboninternational.org.
Program Helps Golf Courses Reduce Pesticide Use
Courses that are members of this program convert, according to Underwood, an average of 22 acres of turf grass into wildlife habitat, meaning that is acreage that golf course maintenance does not need to water, irrigate, fertilize, or mow regularly. A survey a few years ago, according to Underwood, found that 82 percent of ACSP golf courses reduced pesticide use and 92 percent used kinder chemicals where chemical use was required.
The ACSP-Golf program helps the golf course community become more environmentally responsible by helping them find ways to reduce negative impacts to the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them.
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