Monthly Feature Hosted By:
	Bob Farren, CGCS, Director of Grounds and Golf Course Management for Pinehurst Resort and Country Club

Our feature story this month comes from Dean Piller, Class A member and superintendent of the Cordova Bay Golf Course in Victoria, British Columbia. I first met Dean in June of 2005 when he spent a week of his vacation with our staff at Pinehurst, NC. Dean volunteered his time, skills, and talent to help us prepare Pinehurst No. 2 for the 2005 U. S. Open Championship. Paul Jett, CGCS and superintendent at Pinehurst No. 2 was grateful to Dean for his willingness to help us and his dedication to the game, which Dean demonstrated by traveling a great distance to support the Championship.

Dean has a keen interest not only in the game of golf, but with how a golf course provides opportunities for people to enjoy the associated landscape and wildlife. The more superintendents, who are leaders in golf, develop opportunities for people to enjoy all of the elements that a golf course has to offer; then the stronger the game of golf can become. Habitat enhancement is most definitely a situation where all parties win. Obviously wildlife and the environment are beneficiaries, but golf benefits from the enjoyment others gain from wildlife’s presence and associated landscapes on the golf course.

Cordova Bay Golf Course has been a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary since 2004. Dean continues to identify ways to integrate environmental stewardship at Cordova Bay Golf Course. Perhaps after reading Dean’s story you will feel inspired to follow his lead. Cordova Bay Golf Course is a good example of how golf’s environmental programs reach out to involve golfers or others with similar interests.

Over 2100 golf courses have registered with Audubon International since the program was initiated in 1991. Approximately, 612 of those 2100 courses have attained certified status and 69 are honored to have achieved the Signature level of certification.

If you are compelled to share an environmental case study, we would love to hear from you. Your completed case study will earn you 0.25 service points. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at bob.farren@pinehurst.com or Mark Johnson.

March's Guest:
	Kevin A. Fletcher, Ph.D. Executive Director Audubon International

Reading through Dean Piller’s case study on bird habitat enhancement projects at Cordova Bay Golf Course, Victoria, BC, Canada was a treat. The golf course, through Dean’s leadership, has been a member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP) since 1994, and certified in the program since 2004. Efforts to maximize bird habitat on the course as expressed in the case study are only part of the story.

Dean’s efforts, and the efforts of the 600-plus other golf courses certified in the ACSP, reflect a broader, comprehensive, and integrated commitment to make environmental stewardship a natural part of business operations. The best of these golf courses share number of common traits:

1. Support and commitment from the owners and leaders at the golf facility.
2. Facility-wide awareness and involvement—from assistant superintendents, managers, members, other staff alike.
3. A full, systematic approach to management of environmental issues to assess the site, create a plan of action, take action, measure and publicize results, and continually improve—sometimes known as an environmental management system (EMS).
4. An understanding of the “business value” of environmental stewardship and management—it isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the profitable thing to do.
5. Sincere dedication and heart.

From actions to enhance wildlife habitat to an emphasis on water quality best management practices, many of the actions that leading golf facilities take are not that difficult. Audubon International developed the ACSP and has been a leader in promoting the value of a comprehensive environmental management system for golf courses. Historically participation has been low, but the opportunities for growth continue especially due to increased awareness, education, and support of an EMS by organizations like Audubon International, GCSAA, and The Environmental Institute for Golf; golf course superintendents and managers are learning the importance and value of the EMS. So read how one golf course is taking action and verifying those actions, and then discover ways to become an environmental leader yourself.