Wildlife and Habitat management

With a site such as Woodside being surrounded by residential areas and highways, the golf course is one of the only areas that can provide habitat for wildlife. It is important to recognize as managers that the golf course has the potential to be the home for a variety of species.

In order to effectively manage wildlife and habitat we must identify which ecological zone we are in. Woodside golf course is in eco zone 9(prairies) this is important in realizing the types of animals you can expect to attract.

Here is an example of what a monitoring form for Wildlife management could look like and how you evaluate your programs success.

Wildlife monitoring form

While on the course be on the lookout for wildlife, if wildlife is seen record it on this form when you return to the shop please record the date, your name, what you saw and the location where you saw it so that we can evaluate the success of our efforts to attract wildlife.

Date	Name	Wildlife	Location

Year after year the number of wildlife seen can be monitored and compared to determine whether or not our efforts are attracting wildlife and if changes need to be made in order to meet the habitat needs of the wildlife.

The next step to implementing wildlife and habitat management is to begin naturalization.  When beginning naturalization it is important to get a consensus on implementing this practice so that you do not end up with an unhappy membership.  It is a good idea to ensure owners and members are on board with the idea before proceeding to naturalize.  Once an agreement has been reached naturalization may take place. Naturalization of a golf course must be done in the areas that will take as little away from the original design as possible and be in areas that will not affect the rate of play. Out of play areas where a ball rarely goes and was not intended to be in play are areas of the course that can be naturalized. There are various other sections of the course that naturalization can be applied in: Such as the area surrounding water bodies bunker capes and around tee boxes.  

Contrary to what the name suggests these areas do require some management.  Annual mowing is a good practice to implement at the end of each season. The reason behind mowing at the end of the season is because once you travel through a natural area with a piece of equipment those tracks will be visible the entire year, that takes spring mowing out of the question. Mowing is a good way of distributing the seed heads of the native grasses to create a denser stand that out competes weeds. Mowing also serves as a form of weed control if you mow the weeds before they go to seed this will deplete the weeds resources stored in the roots making it more difficult for it to survive the winter.

After determining which ecological zone your site is in, gained permission from the club to naturalize and you understand management of these naturalized zones, the last step is to select the proper turf blends for your site. Blends should be chosen for in play areas, out of play areas, and erosion control.

First off a blend for in play areas should be chosen. In play grasses should be have a low growing habit and a thin leaf blade. These qualities make ball retrieval and playability out of this area possible.  Grasses with good drought and heat tolerance will lessen the inputs these areas require.

Secondly we must choose grasses for out of play areas. This blend should consist of grasses that have a tall and densely growing habit so that they can provide soil stabilization as well as good cover and habitat for wildlife.

Lastly we’ll look at grasses for erosion control. The most important quality of this blend is that the grasses have an extensive root system to filter run off and provide soil stability. They must also have a thick growing habitat to provide nesting habitat for waterfowl.