The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has signed a partnership agreement with the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), promising to promote best management practices on golf properties to manage runoff.
During an event at the Langston Golf Course in Washington, D.C., officials from EPA and GCSAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding that enhances their joint commitment to share information on environmental issues, best practices and industry challenges to promote best management practices on golf properties to protect and enhance the environment.
“Our biggest advances in protecting human health and the environment come from working together,” said EPA Mid Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “This partnership with GCSAA will go a long way in benefitting surrounding communities while also enhancing our ongoing dedication to greenspaces, clean water, and healthy air.”
The MOU outlines partnership opportunities for the following priority EPA areas:
- Environmental Stewardship, including controlling stormwater run-off and sustainability
- Environmental Justice
- Improved pollinator sites
- Children’s and Public Health
- Environmental and STEM Education
GCSAA is the professional association for golf course managers, with 19,000 members worldwide.
“This partnership between the EPA and GCSAA is the culmination of decades of collaboration and environmental stewardship on golf courses,” said GCSAA Chief Executive Officer Rhett Evans. “By implementing science-based best management practices, golf course superintendents have made theses public greenspaces more sustainable than ever before.”
Some of the key practices golf courses engage in include controlling stormwater runoff, establishing more pollinator sites to improve bee habitats, preserving public greenspace and sustainable pest management.
Well-managed golf courses provide substantial ecological and community benefits by creating community greenspaces that provide recreational opportunities, offer and enhance wildlife habitats, and help prevent destructive stormwater runoff into neighboring communities.
