From Audobon International

 

CHOCOWINITY – Cypress Landing Golf Club has retained its designation as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, an Audubon International program.

Participation is designed to help course personnel plan, organize, implement, and document a comprehensive environmental management program and receive recognition for their efforts. To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of areas including: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management.

“Cypress Landing Golf Club has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program. They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property,” said Doug Bechtel, executive director of Audubon International.

Cypress Landing Golf Club is one of 18 courses in North Carolina and 902 courses in the world to receive the honor. Golf courses from the United States, Africa, Australia, Central America, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia have also achieved certification in the program. The golf course was designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in 2011. After designation, courses go through a recertification process every two years.

This year the recertification process, coordinated by Stanley Elliott, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendent of Cypress Landing Golf Club, Stan Cohen, Audubon Advisory Chair, and many volunteers from Cypress Landing, required a visit by a local community representative. Jacob Searcy of North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Services was given a tour of the course and sent his observations to Audubon International. “Cypress Landing Golf Club and the surrounding community have made great efforts to make the golf course a desirable place for both golfers and wildlife,” reported Searcy. “Cypress Landing serves as a fine model for other Eastern North Carolina golf courses to imitate.”

“We see the site visit as an important component of a course’s recertification,” stated Bechtel. “It provides an objective verification of some of the more visible aspects of the course’s environmental management activities. In addition, it offers an opportunity for golf course representatives to share publicly some of the voluntary actions they have taken to protect and sustain the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them.”

About Audubon International

Audubon International is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) environmental education organization dedicated to providing people with the education and assistance they need to practice responsible management of land, water, wildlife, and other natural resources. To meet this mission, the organization provides training, services, and a set of award-winning environmental education and certification programs for individuals, organizations, properties, new developments, and entire communities.

For more information, contact Audubon International at 120 Defreest Drive, Troy, NY 12180, 518-767-9051, e-mail at acsp@auduboninternational.org, or visit the website at www.auduboninternational.org.