GolfClubAtlas.com > Golf Course Architecture
Golf Course Stream Restoration
Art Roselle:
--- Quote from: JMorgan on January 10, 2008, 01:39:32 PM ---Jim, Art, what kind of vegetation was used in your projects?
--- End quote ---
I am not sure of the exact species, but I can find out. I know there was a lot of work done to figure out what would be sturdy enough to hold up to heavy rains and provide some of the same erosion stability that was formerly provided by the rocks.
That is an interesting side story about Charlotte though. They originally wanted the bunkering to have a rougher, "natural" look with longer grasses growing on the faces. However, they determined that there were no grasses native to this area that would provide that look (or probably even survive well). So, they stuck with the cleaner look of the Bermuda that you see on those last couple pictures. I guess it would not really be a "natural look" if none of the plants required appear naturally in the area.
JNagle:
Land Studies has an interesting approach. Areas directly adjacent to the stream were sodded. They retrofitted a skid-steer and would take large sections of sod 3-4' wide, 5'-6' long and 4-6" thick. THe heavy grass still had a good root mass and was heavy enough to stay in-place should a heavy rain event happen. As for the floodplain areas I will get the specifics. Floodplains were planted with milkweed, sedges, Joe-py-weed, rush, bulrush and others. Wetlands were planted with Sedges, Red top, rye, wild rye, marigold, switch grass. Trees and shrubs planted throughout were Red Maple, birch, redbud, black willow, oak, sycamore, dogwood, pepperbush, elderberry.......
Much like golf architects will "clump" native material into a bunker or mound, so to do these guys. Take big clumps of native matrial and place it just so. Interestingly, a student at Franklin and Marshall College is working with Land Studies to determine if when these project are undetaken and the soil is disturbed if in-fact dormant seed mixed with the buried silt and stream bed will actually germinate again. I may have that wrong, but this is what I understood his study to be. Imagine that native plants adjacent to a stream 200-300 years ago flourishing today.
Pretty cool stuff.
Bruce Katona:
This is a subject very dear to my heart as I very involved in our companies stream restoration work on the only native trout stream located in South Jersey at Pine Hill Golf Club.....the restoration was was included in the projects permitting requirements.....to date we have rstored more than a 1000 feet (could be more than 1/4 mile) of trout stream habitat.
We worked with Jim Gracie of Brightwater, who is located in Ellicott City, MD (www.brightwaterinc.com). Jim Gracie is very well informed on the latest rules and regs regarding stream restoration work at both the state and federal level. It would be a pleasure to work with Jim and his staff again on another project.
Peter Zarlengo:
Stream restoration on golf courses is a great step towards creating more ecologically sustainable landscapes. I have been fortunate to observe two stream restorations, with very different goals.
First was with Orvis Shorefox, where the goal was to repopulate the river with the Native Colorado Cutthroat Trout, for obvious reasons. The stream restoration company (I'm blanking on the name) is restoring a portion of the Colorado River as it exits Rocky Mountain Natl. Park that had been channelized and undergone eutrophication through years of ranch use. The river borders only one hole on the golf course.
The second was at the State College (PA) Elks Club, where Clearwater Conservancy enhanced parts of Spring Creek through the golf course after the stream was deemed unstable in its support of aquatic life. The first step was to create riparian buffers to help purify the runoff as it entered the stream.
Sometimes the most obvious solution, such as adding a small buffer of native, riparian plants can immensely improve stream quality.
Establishment of riparian buffer in tributary stream.
And for those interested:
http://www.cfiglobal.com/articles/Orvis.html
http://www.clearwaterconservancy.org/CWC%20files/Elks%20story%20lighter%20color.pdf
JMorgan:
One of the things that interests me about golf courses in the US is that they seem to mirror our conventional ideas about the appearance and style of our landscapes, where the preference is for well-spaced trees over grass or groundcover without a middle layer of understory and shrubs -- except when hiding the foundation of some structure. I could see an argument being made for restoration of this native layer at certain places on the course and serving dual purposes: as a trade-off for tree removal, particularly in cases where a club membership is loathe to remove trees, and as mitigation for increasingly stringent environmental standards.
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