Monthly Feature Hosted By:
	Matthew J. Ceplo, CGCS, at Rockland Country Club in Sparkill, N.Y

After reading the Neshanic Valley Golf Course case study, I must say that Darrell Marcinek, CGCS and Director of Golf Maintenance for the Somerset County Park Commission and his staff are very proactive.  This team has recognized their role within their watershed to properly manage their landscapes and have been responsible environmental stewards.  Their collaboration and achievements will have many dividends for all of us in the years to come.

Darrell has collaborated and worked with “outside” organizations, like the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA), Eagle Scouts, and Somerset County Park Commission (SCPC).  In the case of Neshanic Valley, they started right from the design stages.  Getting others involved helps spread out the workload, gets the word out and builds good relationships with neighbors and residents.  These relationships are important in that they help to inform the non-golfing public about golf’s environmental stewardship efforts – a benefit for all of golf.  However, the work at Neshanic Valley does more than that, it helps all golf facilities learn how to deal with some of the challenges we face.

I work at a private club and it seems that municipal facilities manage many of the environmental issues before the private facilities do.  In general, the municipal facilities are the first facilities to experience government sponsored programs, guidelines, and increased governmental regulations.  That only makes sense because they are after all public property.  If the municipalities can successfully operate within established programs, guidelines and regulations, then it only makes sense that those guidelines or even tougher restrictions will be on the horizon for all of us.  We can learn from these stewardship examples and better prepare for what may lie ahead.

Environmental stewardship is a process of continuous improvement and Darrell’s team, like the rest of us, is not finished.  Darrell is now working on certification by Audubon International for the golf courses.  We all are always looking to learn, improve, and discover new ways of doing things.  There is so much to learn and so many ways to help and that is half the fun of being professional land managers – golf course superintendents. 

January's Guest:
	Nancy Sadlon, New Jersey Green Industry Council, Executive Director

An almost bird’s eye view is offered to the arriving guest of Neshanic Valley Golf Course, a public golf course in Somerset County, NJ.   One sees vast areas of rolling fairways interspersed with river corridors of native vegetation and acres of fescue that define the course.  This initial approach is big and offers a unique open view of the protected waterways that traverse the course. It is a grand first impression of a special golf course that illustrates the concept of “golf and the environment– perfect together”.

Neshanic Valley Golf course was recognized as a “River Friendly Golf Course” by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA) in 2008. They are one of two golf courses to meet the certification standards of the program formed in 1999. As noted by Andrew Hojnowski, the manager of golf maintenance at Neshanic Valley, the biggest challenges for certification in the River–Friendly program include:

• Stream Corridor Maintenance:  Keeping and attractive vegetative cover yet eliminating invasive species -the course has buffers from 10 -25 feet around all ponds, 50 feet along stream corridors and 500 feet between the course and the South Branch of the Raritan River.
• Water Quality Management:  Fertilizer and pesticide choices that meet low rate, low toxicity or short half life requirements and are effective- the courses IPM program is ever changing to work with new products that meet the NJWSA criteria as needed from testing results of soils and water. 
• Outreach and Education:  A challenging and important aspect of the program is to convey to the public what steps we take to protect and enhance the environment

What separates this golf course from many others that offer a great visual 1st impression is the full visual view of the natural layout with numerous wildlife corridors.  What further defines this course as a leading conservation example is to learn about the ongoing commitment to conservation from design to maintenance and the attitude of the staff of Neshanic Valley Country Club.  My brief interview and tour of the course made clear that all involved in the management of this course fully embrace a conservation ethic.  Collectively they continue to fine tune management practices with protection and conservation of the site’s natural resources as the primary goal balanced with the offering of a good golf experience.  

Nancy Sadlon is the currently Executive Director of the NJGIC – a nonprofit organization in NJ whose mission is to secure reasonable regulations and laws for golf and other sectors in the green industry.  Ms. Sadlon is the former Environmental Specialist for the USGA where she promoted the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf courses.  Early in her career she provided landscape architecture, planning and environmental impact report services as an environmental consultant.