| Bear Mountain On Its Way To Audubon Certification |
 The Bear Mountain Golf Course Will Host The 2010 Telus Skins Game And According To Superintenent Darren Burns Becoming A Fully Designated Audubon Sanctuary Sits High Atop His Priority List For The Skins Game by Rick Munro It has been quite an eventful year for Bear Mountain Golf Course starting with the grand opening of the new Steve Nicklaus designed Valley Course. More recently Bear Mountain was awarded the 2010 Telus Skins Game to be held in June of next year. With the opportunity to host 5 of the worlds top golfers comes a whole lot of work to prepare the Mountain Course for 2 days of world class golf and the throngs of spectators that will show up to trample the beautifully manicured turf. However this is an opportunity that is relished by Superintendent Darren Burns and his two capable assistants Kyle Kemble and Scott Salzl. The main goal for Burns and his charges is obviously to provide top notch playing conditions for the event, particularly considering the fact that the Skins game falls directly on the heals of the 2010 U.S. Open. This is “old hat” for Burns who hosted the 1997 Skins Game while Superintendent at Nicklaus North Golf Course in Whistler, B.C. Providing near perfect playing conditions is not the only goal for the experienced Superintendent. In October of 2009 Bear Mountain received certification in the first stage of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. According to Burns becoming fully designated as an Audubon Sanctuary sits high atop his priority list for the Skins game. While most Superintendents need only worry about maintaining 18 holes in an environmentally friendly way, Burns must concern himself with the maintenance of 37 holes (19th hole sits at the top of the property overlooking downtown Victoria). Audubon certification is a challenge he takes very seriously and is determined to succeed. A drive around the two golf courses at Bear Mountain reveals a huge commitment to environmentally responsible golf course maintenance.  "Providing Habitat For Wildlife Is One Of The Main Objectives Of The Audubon Program And A Primary Goal For Bear Mountain Superintendent Darren Burns" Although the entire property is nearly 500 acres it is estimated that approximately 300 acres have been dedicated to wildlife habitat including no-maintenance areas and buffer zones that surround the many acres of water bodies on the property. Achieving certification in the Site Assessment and Environmental Plan category is only the first of 6 steps to gaining full Audubon certification. The remaining categories are Wildlife and Habitat Management, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management and Outreach and Education. According to Burns, Bear Mountain is close to certification in all the categories with Water Conservation just about ready to send to Audubon International for review and certification. With a few details to work out and some minor changes to how the maintenance facility operates Burns is confident that full Audubon certification can be achieved by the time the Skins game arrives. In order to satisfy some of the requirements for the Wildlife and Habitat Management category Burns is planning to use some of the branches collected from the course during windstorms to form brush piles in out of play areas for wildlife to inhabit. Although over half of the property is dedicated as wildlife habitat, Burns feels it is his responsibility to provide as much habitat for the animals as possible.  Superintendent Burns Would Love To Demonstrate To The Public That Golf Courses Are Good For The Environment A further goal of his is to demonstrate to the public that golf courses are good for the environment. Burns is hoping that gaining certification in an internationally recognized environmental program will help to change the perception amongst a large portion of the population that golf courses are environmental wastelands that are harmful to the wildlife that populate these areas. The category that needs the most work to achieve certification is Outreach and Education. One of the main goals of the Outreach and Education category is to provide opportunities for patrons, staff, decision makers and community members to be involved in environmental projects on the golf course. To accomplish this, Burns is planning to form a Resource Advisory Group (RAG) in early in 2010 to help plan and implement some environmental projects such as hand removing some of the Scotch Broom that has invaded the golf course. With help from the RAG, Burns should have little trouble becoming Audubon certified by the time the PGA players arrive. If Darren Burns has it his way, and I am sure he will, Bear Mountain will become the 9th B.C. golf course to achieve Audubon Sanctuary status; something far more important to the embattled golf industry than hosting a tournament. About the writer: Rick Munro has been working in the golf course maintenance and construction industry for the past 20 years and has professional certificates in Turfgrass Management, Environmental Management of the golf course as well as Golf Course Construction and Design from the University of Guelph. Rick is the principal of an Environmental Consulting business called GREENSIDE Environmental Services set to start operations in April specializing in Audubon certification aid for golf courses. He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  Click Here To Receive iG's Top Rated E-Newsletter And Qualify To Win Great Prizes Shouldn't You Be Inside Golf? |
