Comments from the Board of Directors of

Friends of Sligo Creek

Concerning Plans for Future Use of the Sligo Creek Golf Course

(August 25, 2009)

The following comments build on those presented in my testimony at the July 16th meeting of the Planning Board. These current comments are submitted as the County Executive and others are showing support for the golf-community’s advocacy for maintaining the golf course.

Friends of Sligo Creek is an all-volunteer organization that works to protect and improve the natural qualities of the park and the surrounding watershed. Among other things, we work to control litter and invasive plants, as well as improve water quality and habitat for wildlife and native plants. In addition to appreciating the natural beauty and open space of Sligo Park, Friends of Sligo Creek recognizes the importance of the stream valley for the ways it benefits our local and regional environment. It is, for example, a valuable part of protecting water that flows to the Anacostia, the Potomac, and the Chesapeake Bay; Sligo’s woods and meadows are important to conservation of native animals and plants.

Planning for the future of the Sligo golf course site is very important to the Friends of Sligo because, at 65 acres, the site’s impact is large because its proportion to the current Sligo Creek Park is large: the size of the golf course is more than 10 percent of the size of the Montgomery County part of Sligo Park. The course is already an important part of the open space, woods, and fields of the Sligo Creek watershed, and it has a tributary that flows into the creek, as well as many mature trees. With so little parkland inside the beltway, we don’t want to see this large parcel of land lost to development of any kind—even recreational—if it would have a detrimental effect on the local ecosystem.

Criteria for basic environmental health

The Board of Directors strongly believes that the master plan for the golf course site should, at a minimum:

Protect water quality. The existing tributary to Sligo Creek and the on-line stormwater pond should be well-buffered from pollution, stormwater, sediment, and chemicals.
Protect existing trees. The site has many large trees that should not only be retained but also protected from damage that will assuredly result from grading or use of heavy equipment over their root zones.
Enhance conditions for wildlife habitat. Pollinators, most birds, and amphibians and reptiles have special requirements that should be met. Bats and cavity-nesting birds look for older trees for their homes. Diverse communities of plants could be planted in meadows and mixed forest areas.
Encourage appreciation and education about nature. For example, natural aspects of the site, such as good riparian buffering and rain gardens, can be "interpreted" through signage.

The Board also supports the possibility that part of the golf course site be converted to an urban ecology center, which would provide opportunity and support for recreation, study, and education. Perhaps the old club-house could serve as the indoor education facility, and the pond as a wetland study area. Local schools might be brought in as institutional partners. Professional biologists from the University of Maryland, governmental agencies, and other organizations in the area could be invited to be part of a Sligo Creek Nature Preserve Advisory Committee, which could help craft a vision and objectives for the center, e.g., review the scientific aspects of study design, field work, and environmental monitoring.

Other volunteers could be recruited to help with much of the work involved in setting up and running such a facility, including leading hikes, keeping the nature center open, answering phones, etc. Developing an active corps of trained volunteers who can augment work done by the MNCPPC and MC DEP could be a step forward in learning more about and improving the environmental health of Sligo Creek and other natural areas in the County. The experience of Friends of Sligo has been that many residents are very interested in getting involved in understanding how local ecosystems work. People want to study, they want to collect data and make tangible contributions to “citizen science,” and they want to see their actions effect positive results.

A “green” course

The Board of Friends of Sligo Creek is sympathetic to the substantial local interest in keeping golf at the course site. The course has been a long-time amenity to this part of the County, and we believe it is generally compatible with the more natural portions of the park. We urge that the “new” Sligo Golf Course be an environmentally-friendly course, showcasing ecologically sound practices and, in any redesign, assuring that loss of trees and bull-dozing of the landscape is avoided.

The Revenue Authority management has already taken some steps to reduce the use of fertilizers and other chemicals that would drain into Sligo Creek. Montgomery County has also invested significantly in improvements to the stormwater pond and in stream restoration on the golf course. More remains to be done, however, in improving the ecological health of the site.

We believe that the “greening” of the Sligo golf course site can showcase ecologically sound practices and can build interest and support for the course among golfers and non-golfers, as well as contribute to educating the wider community about how the game can be friendlier to the local environment. We note that this was a prime conclusion and recommendation of the Sligo Creek Stakeholders Advisory Committee, convened by the Revenue Authority and constituted of representatives from neighborhood associations, golfers, and others; this group worked weekly from April into August, 2008.

Some obvious steps that will make the course greener and reduce expenses include: (1) adoption of "best management practices" and decreasing fairways to save on mowing, fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation; (2) use of drought-resistant grasses in fairways, and planting hardy native drought-resistant trees and other plants elsewhere; (3) improvement of water collection efforts at buildings and elsewhere to reduce irrigation costs; and as the clubhouse and other buildings are renovated, (4) use of energy- and water-conserving technologies such as green roofs, active and passive solar features, efficient cooling and lighting.

In addition, wherever possible, natural preserve features should be incorporated into the total site, e.g., rain gardens, butterfly gardens, plant buffers around the stream and pond, increased plantings of native plants, and bluebird houses.

To make sure the "greening" is as effective and complete as possible, an environmental management plan needs to be developed, applying both national “best practices” for older golf courses and locally developed standards from the ecology of Sligo Creek watershed. An advisory group needs to be formed for the purpose of contributing local expertise to the environmental and outreach efforts needed to support a “green” Sligo Golf Course. The Friends of Sligo Creek would be happy to serve on such a group. And, as always, we'd be happy to get our hands dirty by planting trees and in similar projects.

A final benefit about the site going natural is that the costs should be modest and can be scheduled in a manageable way.

Way forward

To help share and develop Planning staff and community ideas, we suggest that several on-site tours of the site be held. There is no substitute for experiencing this parcel in person, and field opportunities would help in formulating the possibilities for making it an area that both wildlife and humans can enjoy. We look forward to working with you to meet this goal.

Thank you,

Bruce Sidwell

President, Board of Directors

Friends of Sligo Creek

(www.fosc.org)