July 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 60

Boise, Idaho, Parks and Recreation

Operations

Irrigation stations water a turf
mix of Kentucky bluegrass and
fescue in Boise, Idaho.

ciation of America, municipalities
are experimenting with cool- and
warm-season turfgrasses that are
durable and require less water and
growing inputs. For example, Boise
is currently trying out cultivars such
as " Rhizomatous Tall Fescue " and
" Clover Nitrofixer. "
Lonn also notes a trend toward
salt-tolerant grasses like Paspalum,
which are critical for irrigation systems sourcing recycled water.

version to low or no-utility grass or
native plant areas.
It's a concept that's being applied
in municipal golf courses and park
and recreation agencies.
" When we design parks, we use as
little turf as possible, " says landscape
architect Tom Gibson of Los Angeles, California, Recreation and Parks.
Through a five-year (recently renewed) partnership with Los Angeles
Water and Power, Gibson's depart-

Soil moisture sensors come in both wireless
in-ground permanent and hand-held forms, and
generally range in price from between $100
and several thousand dollars.
But, as Lyman emphasizes, it's not
necessarily about what's best, but
what's expendable. " One of the most
important trends we are seeing in the
industry is the critical evaluation of
acreage that actually needs to be irrigated, " Lyman states, referencing
USGA's " Maintenance Up the Middle " program, which encourages a
water focus around golf-course tees,
fairways and greens. Non-critical areas are examined for potential con58

Parks & Recreation

ment recorded a 30 percent reduction
in water use. And, despite adding 18
parks over the past year through Los
Angeles' ambitious 50 Parks Initiative, the department has decreased
overall turf acreage throughout its
450-plus parks and facilities.
" We look to eliminate turf not
highly used by the public for active
sports or passive recreation, " Gibson
says. " This means using mulching,
and native and regionally compati-

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ble plants. It takes the public a little
getting used to, but they are responding in a more positive way [which
he credits to education]...and it's
becoming more desirable and more
requested in the community. "
When Stone Mountain Golf Club
by Marriott - which resides on Georgia state parkland - converted 12 of
its 142 acres of turf back into native
grasses and wildflowers, it did so as
part of a formal set of best management practices (BMPs) established
in 2006-2007 following a series of
droughts. According to Anthony Williams, director of grounds, this resulted in a $28,000 reduction in chemical
and fertilizer use in the first year alone
and a savings of 100 million gallons of
water to date. But what is particularly
impressive to Williams is the extent to
which the turf conversion naturally
led to the restoration of wildlife and
connector habitats, and the creation
of hunting and nesting sites.
" In the master environmental plan,
we needed to decrease water use, " he
says. " These native areas that allowed
us to save water initially actually reestablished the original food chain by recovering indigenous varieties of plants
and animals. It's true sustainability. "
Williams mentions other initiatives
related to the club's water-efficiency
efforts, including the installation of
more than 100 nesting boxes and the
creation of an outdoor classroom for
troubled youth.
" Water conservation is the cornerstone of all our other environmental
programs, " he affirms. " Our green
program in the beginning was a simple concept that spun to other things,
changing us from 'sort of a green
space' to a world-class green space. "
Amy Kapp is a freelance writer in northern
Virginia (kapp44017@gmail.com).

July 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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