The In's and Out's of ESA's

Let me use this post to lay out the big picture regarding ESAs at Keller GC as I think it is important for our golfers to understand our long-term environmental goals and objectives for the golf course.

Not only is Keller an awesome golf course with a rich history and devoted following, BUT it is now recognized as an environmental leader of golf courses in the state of Minnesota. You may or may not know that Keller is a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, one of 21 courses in the state to hold that designation. What is the ACSP Program for golf courses?  In addition, we are one of three courses in the state to receive the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents Association Environmental Stewardship Award as well as a Landscape Ecology Award from the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District.

 

Why are we so involved in this environmental "thing"? Golf continues to come under attack on the environmental and regulatory fronts. It is an easy target, primarily because it's a game of leisure and maintenance practices from decades ago continue to feed the perception that golf is destroying the environment. Keep in mind that Minnesota golf, as of 2006, is a $2.4 billion industry responsible for some 35,000 jobs statewide! Seems impressive, yet, as an industry, we must be proactive in stemming these assaults on the game. I am a firm believer in a proactive strategy.  As a result, we have implemented countless procedures and programs over the last 19 years here at Keller to improve our environmental profile and to show the value of the green space upon which we play the game of golf.

When the funding for the golf course renovation was finalized in early 2012, RC saw an opportunity to improve and expand the wildlife habitat available on the Keller GC property as well as increasing the property's biodiversity. We asked the golf course architect to incorporate wildlife corridors into his designs. We then applied for and received $60,000 in cost-share grants from the Ramsey Conservation District and the RWMWD for native plantings establishment and existing habitat restorations. The RWMWD took the lead on the 2-year implementation of this project and most work was done during the golf course construction, though some reseeding remains for 2015.The link below is to a USGA article on natural areas on the golf course. It is very informative and is a must read if you have any interest in the benefits, establishment and maintenance of these areas on golf courses:   USGA article on GC ecosystem enhancement
 

One important take-away regarding prairie restorations - they take years to establish and mature and they don't look all that impressive early on in their development.

We currently have approximately 20 acres of property that are now restored to native prairie, woodland and shoreline areas (I won't have a firm number until the new county aerial photos are generated this spring).As you can see, a great deal of time, effort and money went into improving our environmental standing.In order to preserve these critical native restoration areas, the RWMWD declared these areas as ESA's. ESA's or Environmentally Sensitive Area is a term that is relatively new to the game of golf. In a nutshell, ESA's are naturally-occurring or restored areas on the golf course, defined by an outside agency (in our case, the RWMWD), in which entrance into or play out of, is prohibited. These areas are marked by stakes that have a green cap.

On the other side of the coin, I am aware that some will always see these native areas as "weed patches" and nothing else. There is little I  can do moving forward other than to continue to try to educate our golfers and hope they eventually buy into our environmental programming.In a related blog post I came across, the Golf Geek discusses what is undoubtedly some golfers perceptions of ESA's and he posts the complete USGA rules pertaining to the topic. Take a look:     Golf Geek article
 

FAQs on ESAs:

1. Who is the “appropriate authority (i.e., government agency or the like)” that determined the required size of ESA for the Keller Golf Course renovation?  The government agency that declared these areas as ESA is the Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District. The size of the ESAs was determined by joint collaboration between the golf course architect, RWMWD and Ramsey County Staff.
2. Was it Ramsey County who determined the required size of ESA?  See above
3. Was the architect directed to embed the required ESA into his design?  Yes, the architect was asked to incorporate habitat areas/corridors into his plans.
4. What flexibility, if any, does Keller Golf Course management have in adjusting the size of the required ESA? In the event an area is removed or reduced in size, a similar sized area must be restored elsewhere on the property.
5. Am I correct in assuming that one common identifier for all ESAs on Keller will be stakes topped with green?  Any color stake can have a green top signifying an ESA.
6. Players are prohibited entry into and/or play from the ESAs? Yes, that is the definition of an ESA…no entry allowed. RC realizes that not all golfers will comply with the ESA rules, but we believe the majority will adhere to the entrance restrictions.

ESA Out-of-bounds. Stroke and distance as defined by rule 27.



 

ESA Groung under repair. "Free drop" as defined by rule 25.1.

ESA Lateral water hazard. One stroke penalty as defined by Rule 26.
ESA Direct water hazard (yellow stake w/ green cap) also defined by Rule 26.





Hazard and ESA locations on the golf course.

If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Feel free to share this information with fellow golfers. Hit it long and straight!