Yale Talk Focuses on Creating Ecological Diversity on Golf Courses With Innovative Designs for Wetlands and Waterways

Donald Schall, wetland biologist, will be the next speaker in the semester-long series “The Restoration Agenda: Water!” presented by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. His talk, “Wetland Creation in Landscaped Environments,” which will focus primarily on creative golf course design, will be Wed., March 25, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Bowers Auditorium of Sage Hall, 205 Prospect St.

An open forum follows from 1-2 p.m. during an informal luncheon. Brown-bag lunches are welcome; hot beverages will be provided. The series is free to all Yale students, faculty, staff and alumni/ae. Community members are welcome; registration information is available from Dr. Aimlee Laderman at (203) 432-3335.

“Landscape alterations associated with golf course projects provide the golf course architect and landscape ecologist with the opportunity to increase wildlife habitat diversity and species richness,” Schall said. “Adding diverse terrestrial and aquatic plant communities to a golf course can be regionally important to wildlife.”

Schall, senior wildlife biologist with ENSR, a private consulting firm in Buzzards Bay, Mass., serves on a state task force for the protection and management of rare plant species. He has more than 27 years of experience in wildlife habitat assessment, natural resource inventory, inland and coastal wetland delineation and permits, and vernal pool certification.

The creation of artificial freshwater streams, ponds and wetlands in the golf course environment can provide suitable habitat for migratory shorebirds, waterfowl and other water-dependent birds, aquatic invertebrates and rare plant species, he said. Monitoring of species diversity and wildlife use is underway at two golf courses in Cape Cod, Mass., to evaluate the long-term success of the newly created waterways.

“Long-term monitoring will provide land-use managers, landscape ecologists and golf course architects with valuable information regarding the success or failure of the created wetland techniques,” Schall said. “Based on field observations, design modifications may be incorporated into landscape designs developed for future golf course projects to contribute to increased wildlife diversity.”