Monthly Feature Hosted By:
	Anthony L. Williams, CGCS at Marriott’s Stone Mountain Golf Club in Georgia

The vision and execution of the project featured in this month’s case study is an example of what can be achieved through planning and concentrated effort. Matt McKinnon walks us through the wetland mitigation project at the Legacy Courses at Craguns. Their situation was complex. The challenge was a wetland located right where a wider landing area was needed on the 18th hole. The process of permitting, planning and actually completing the project is fascinating as it was demanding.

Matt gives us details on wetland classifications and expectations of regulatory agencies such as a local agency, Cass County, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The required ratio for mitigation and for wetland replacement that was recommended for Matt’s project was 3:1, an important number if you are managing wetlands. This number varies on a site by site and project to project basis.

The pictures within this case study are excellent and capture the various stages of the project. There is some great information about the exact seed mixes, the seed rate of 82/pounds per acre and the timing of the seeding in late April. The explanation of how the Minnesota Wetland Bank works is good because it was a key element of this project’s success. The wetland bank provided the opportunity to purchase wetland credits (16,827 sq. ft. for $13,068.00) to complete the project’s mitigation at the 3:1 replacement ratio.

The completed work looks great and solved a significant challenge for the property. This case study is a reminder that environmental stewardship is an ongoing process as evidenced by the initial construction of the Legacy Courses in 1998 as Minnesota’s only Audubon Signature Sanctuary to the extreme wetland mitigation projects in 2005. Matt McKinnon and the Legacy Courses at Craguns are setting a great example.  

December's Guest:
	Rick Traver, CGCS, Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents Association president

When talking with Matt McKinnon you quickly get the impression that being a good steward of the environment is a privilege not a burden. Matt is the Superintendent at the Legacy Courses at Craguns in Brainerd, MN. The Legacy Courses are 45 beautiful golf holes intertwined with Minnesota’s regal north woods. As you play the golf holes you feel as though you are in complete harmony with nature. That is because from the inception of the golf courses the owners of The Legacy Courses, Dutch and Irma Cragun were interested in having the facility become an Audubon International Certified Sanctuary. Dutch and Irma have supported Matt by working as a team in achieving that certification. 

While there are many Audubon Certified courses in Minnesota, The Legacy Courses at Craguns is the only Bronze Certified Signature Sanctuary golf course facility in our state.  This means they put their entire natural resource management plan together in-house without any outside input from a professional consulting company. This was a major undertaking and took a strong commitment to the project as well as the environment, a commitment that continues daily in their effort to maintain their certification. Maintaining their certification requires a bi-annual white glove inspection.  

A good example of their commitment to the environment is in Matt’s case study. They made improvements to their 18th hole and went about it with the idea that they were to preserve and protect the environment first. In reading through this case study you’ll see that this project was not going to be inexpensive by any standard and the 3:1 ratio of wetland they were asked to replace would be no small task. They ultimately could not provide the total wetland asked for on-site and therefore contracted with the Minnesota Wetland Bank, which allowed the wetland to be created off site. This project is ongoing and will have to be reported on yearly until all the vegetation is “grown in” to the Army Corp of Engineers satisfaction. 

Matt considers this project a major success, because they improved the playability of the golf course while keeping the environment at the forefront.