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Golf Courses Nitrogen Management Challenge
Mike Rewinski, Superintendent for Westhampton Country Club.
The Problem: Nutrient Overloading
Nutrients are essential for sustaining life, including estuary ecosystems. However, when nutrients are present at excessive levels due to human activities, they can be harmful to an estuary. When nutrients, especially nitrogen, are introduced to an estuary at higher than normal rates, they stimulate aquatic plant growth, including algae and "seaweeds." Under certain conditions, algal blooms can harm or even kill fish, shellfish, and other aquatic animals by using up the dissolved oxygen in the water that animals need in order to breathe. Nitrogen is strongly suspected of playing a role in Brown Tide blooms, including triggering and sustaining these events. Excessive algae can cloud the water, effectively blocking sunlight from reaching submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), which provides prime nursery and spawning habitat for juvenile finfish and shellfish. Excess nitrogen may directly and adversely affect the health of a particularly important SAV, eelgrass. The loss of SAV, and especially eelgrass, can affect the entire estuarine food web. These and other impacts can contribute to shifting and changing of the entire estuarine food web. The long-term impacts of high nitrogen levels are difficult to measure, but probably include changes to the numbers and kinds of aquatic life present in estuaries.
Sources of nutrients include point and nonpoint sources such as:
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sewage treatment plant discharges
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stormwater runoff from lawns and agricultural lands
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faulty or leaking septic systems
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sediment in runoff
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animal wastes
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atmospheric deposition originating from power plants or vehicles
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groundwater discharges.
The Solution: Nitrogen Management Challenge
The Nitrogen Management Challenge is a partnership between your golf course, EPA, USGA, Cornell University, local government, and concerned citizens with the goal of minimizing loss of Nitrogen fertilizer to surface and ground water.
This goal is achieved by implementing best management practices for:
- course design
- turf maintenance
- cleaning of turf maintenance equipment
- proper management of compost.
In May 2003, EPA teamed up with the United States Golf Association (USGA), Cornell University, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the Suffolk County Health Department, the Peconic Estuary Program's Citizen's Advisory Committee and the East End Golf Course Superintendents to create the East End Nitrogen Management Challenge for Golf Courses.
On February 23, 2004, the group met to formulate a plan and develop a
set of documents that will be used to help meet the Nitrogen Management
Challenge for Golf Courses as part of the Long
Island East End/Peconic Estuary Program. Ultimately, the group
decided to work with Audubon International to adapt their Audubon
Cooperative Sanctuary Program 
for Golf Course materials to fit the specific needs and goals of the Challenge.
The Nitrogen Management Challenge for Golf Courses consists of the following:
- Statement of Support [PDF 16 KB, 1 pp] signed by the Superintendent or Manager and the Green Committee Chair, President, Club Manager, or Owner indicating the golf course's commitment to working toward achieving the goals stated in the Proposed Challenge to the Golf Course Industry by active participation in the program.
- Site Assessment [PDF 47 KB, 8 pp] and other requested materials submitted by the Superintendent or other designated Course official. These documents provide background information about the golf course property that will be used to formulate a nitrogen management plan that is specific for your golf course.
- Nitrogen Management Plan [PDF 56 KB, 9 pp] submitted by the Superintendent or other designated Course official. This document contains a checklist of goals for reducing nitrogen inputs and preserving environmental quality on the golf course. Please be aware that it is not mandatory that every goal in the Plan be checked "yes" in order to meet the Nitrogen Management Challenge.
- Site Visit conducted by representative(s) from Cornell University and/or the USGA to review the target goals of the Nitrogen Management Plan. Site visits can be arranged with the USGA by contacting James Baird at jbaird@usga.org.
- Nitrogen Management Challenge Report prepared by Cornell University and the USGA Green Section which includes the: Site Assessment and other information (e.g., maps, test results); Nitrogen Management Plan, and summary of how the golf course is meeting the Nitrogen Management Challenge in addition to recommendations for improvement.
- Annual Fertilizer Application Record [PDF 1 KB, 2 pp] submitted by the Superintendent or other designated Course official. This document serves as a continuous record of annual nitrogen use, water testing, and, if applicable, changes in nitrogen management on the golf course. If necessary, follow-up visits can be made by representative from Cornell or the USGA.
The Invitation
While this pilot program has targeted improved nitrogen management in Eastern Long Island due to concern for the ecological health of the Peconic Estuary and neighboring surface waters, we invite all golf courses in any part of the country to participate in the Challenge. While golf courses are not necessarily the largest contributor to nitrogen loading in a given area, they are one of several sectors that have an important role to play in a region's overall nitrogen management and pollution prevention effort.
If you are interested in having your golf course take the Nitrogen Mangement Challenge, please contact Carlos Ramos at ramos.carlos@epa.gov. We are excited about the opportunity to work with you and bring recognition to your efforts as an environmental steward. We also look forward to supporting your efforts to continually improve your nitrogen management through technical assistance and pilot projects.