Standards that provide wildlife with quality living areas when they settle down after winter travels are being implemented at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., and no animal is more thrilled with the collaborative effort than the American Kestrel.
The latest development in the four-year tug-of-war between environmental groups and those seeking to preserve the historic, Alister MacKenzie-designed course was hailed as a “common-sense result” that could now clear the way for striking the right balance between protecting habitat for endangered species and retaining a popular site for public recreation.
Members of the Indio, Calif., council unanimously approved the ordinance, which would allow the use of firearms to shoot American coot birds on golf courses in the area. Superintendents say the nuisance birds have inundated at least two Indio golf courses and damaged the green space.
The Bedminster, N.J. property’s long-term partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New Jersey Audubon Society includes plans for a sweeping habitat restoration project that will create a permanent home for several bird species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the N.C. Wildlife Commission are coordinating investigatory efforts into the deaths of the federally protected birds, which were found in two locations at the club. Officials have not ruled out intentional killings.
The agreement reached in federal court is the latest regulatory action to come from a 2007 accident that dumped herbicides into the North Fork of the Roanoke River, killing about 10,000 fish. Combined with earlier action, the incident has cost the club more than $60,000.
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