Golfing Greener:

Riparian Restoration at the State College Elks Club

By Anne Marie Toccket

For some conservationists, the words "golf course" may immediately elicit a rolling of the eyes. And with good cause; golf courses have had a somewhat notorious reputation for their negative effects on water quality and wildlife. But as Dave Williams, superintendent of the Elks Country Club golf course in Boalsburg would have you know, this isn’t always the case.

"One bad apple spoils the bunch," says Williams. "Not all golf courses have a detrimental effect on the environment." And Williams should know. His golf course, for one, is working to improve and protect the natural resources around it.

Following a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection report in 2001 stating that parts of Spring Creek, which runs through the Elks course, were impaired, or not supporting aquatic life as they should, the ClearWater Conservancy of Central Pennsylvania helped the Spring Creek Watershed Community publish a special edition of their "Springs & Sinks" newsletter, detailing the damages.

Williams came across a copy of the newsletter and became concerned. Though the risk that the Elks Club itself posed was not explicitly known, Williams recognized that there was certainly room for improvement. "I didn’t know where to start," he said. "I needed help figuring out what role the Elks could play in improving the watershed."

He decided to place a call to ClearWater Conservancy. A partnership quickly developed and with the help of Katie Ombalski, the Conservancy’s Conservation Biologist, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service soon became part of the effort to improve the Elks Club’s stretch of Spring Creek.

"We’re hoping to foster a healthier marriage between this recreational activity and the environment. The two can peacefully coexist," says Ombalski.

The first step, in some cases, was to simply stop mowing. Williams has created several "no mow," or out-of-play areas where instead of neat, carefully manicured lawn, natural vegetation now grows freely. This allows a more biodiverse habitat to recreate itself in the buffer zones surrounding the creek.

"Some golfers don’t like it that way," says Williams. "But some prefer it and recognize its value. It’s a matter of personal choice, but it’s what is right for this initiative."

Another overdue measure was to place signs explicitly labeling Spring Creek at several cart crossings and on Elks Club Road. "We knew there was a problem when some members of the Elks Club referred to Spring Creek as "the ditch," says Ombalski. Installing stream crossing signs on the course was an easy way to let people know that this is a resource that needs protection.

The next step was to develop a long-term plan to ensure that further actions would be taken to conserve and restore the creek and its surrounding areas. ClearWater Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are currently developing a plan to restore Spring Creek’s riparian and stream habitats and to decrease the impact of the golf course on the stream. This plan also includes the restoration of a tributary that flows into Spring Creek on Elks’ property.

In addition to guidance from ClearWater and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Williams is ensuring that he will be able to maintain the property efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way on his own for years to come.

Through Williams’ initiative, the Elks Club also will be certified as a Cooperative Sanctuary through Audubon International, which requires that the course operate with high standards in the following six categories: environmental planning, wildlife habitat management, chemical use reduction and safety, water conservation, water quality management, and outreach and education.

He plans for the Elks Club to be fully certified by the end of this summer and hopes that the program will help the club to continue to act as a good steward of the land. "The course will be more aesthetically pleasing for golfers, and we will be contributing to the revival of Spring Creek," he says. "I really think this is a win-win situation."   

Arbor Day 2006

During the week of May 1, 2006 fifty-five wonderful ClearWater volunteers planted nearly 800 native trees and shrubs along the headwaters of Spring Creek at the State College Elk Club golf course.  This project is part of our Riparian Conservation Program and restored over 700 linear feet of streamside buffer in this impaired segment of Spring Creek. 

Spring Creek at the State College Elks Country Club, before Arbor Day plantings and restoration. 

Spring Creek at the State College Elks Country Club, after the addition of 800 trees and shrubs.

This year's event is co-sponsored by ELA Group, Inc.,  Engineers & Landscape Architects and SPE Federal Credit Union.

Employees from ELA Group volunteer for a good cause.

Funding support also comes from the NiSource Environmental Challenge Fund, the PA Department of Environmental Protection Growing Greener grant program, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program.  Some plant material was donated by Blackhawk Homestead Nursery and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.  Design services were donated by Ken Tamminga of the PSU Department of Landscape Architecture; planning and coordination was led by volunteer Louise Comas. 

Special thanks to the State College Elks Club and golf course superintendent Dave Williams for your partnership and dedication.

Planting List:

Acer rubrum

Betula nigra

Quercus palustris

Alnus serrulata

Cornus amomum

Cornus sericea

Ilex verticillata

Physocarpus opulifolius

Salix exigua ssp. interior

Salix sericea

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Rosa palustris

Spirea tomentosa

Photos by Stacie Bird, Katie Ombalski,

and Jennifer Shuey.

For more information about how you can enhance or protect your riparian property or to volunteer for the Riparian Restoration Crew, please contact Katie Ombalski at (814) 237-0400 or katie@clearwaterconservancy.org.