More and more club and resort properties are now fully embracing the principles of environmental stewardship and pursuing the intensive and detailed processes involved with having their properties become formally certified as eco-friendly sanctuaries by Audubon International or other organizations.

It’s worth the considerable time and effort to do this, course and club managers now agree, because environmental initiative not only help to preserve the natural heritage of golf, but also can properly position properties as community leaders and contributors to the drive to protect the environment and pursue eco-friendly best practices.

Golf course superintendents have taken the lead in directing these efforts, and most of their initiatives have been concentrated on areas such as water quality management, chemical use reduction and safety, and expanded roles for natural areas on their properties. But environmental stewardship also carries added responsibility for protecting wildlife and their habitats—and that includes being better prepared to help and respond as needed when visitors from the wild suffer distress within the boundaries of a club property.

Less than three months after the badly injured owl was found on The Club at Longview course, she had been nursed back to full health and brought back to the club for release back to the wild.

The Club at Longview in Charlotte, N.C. had a first-hand opportunity to put these newfound responsibilities into action last fall, when a badly injured great horned owl was found on the 11th hole of Longview’s course. Most likely hit by a vehicle on a nearby road, the female owl had a wound to her right eye, a gaping hole in her chest, and traumatic injuries to her lower back, pelvic bone and right wing bone, and was very close to death when she was found on the course.

But thanks to quick response by Longview’s golf course maintenance staff, as directed by Golf Course Superintendent Todd Pippin and Director of Golf Course Operations Ray Avery, the Charlotte Raptor Center was promptly contacted, and the owl was properly protected at the course before being quickly transferred safely to the center’s expert care.

Over the next two-plus months, the owl had to undergo 13 surgeries, many of which put her into a near-comatose state. And after enduring all of that, she had to begin the process of learning to survive on her own again.

Here again, the Longview staff provided support to the center as the owl was first kept in a closed, range-type cage that allowed her to expand her wings and fly short distances, and then tested in controlled space, to make sure she had retained and recovered her predatory hunting skills.

After passing all of these tests with “flying colors,” the owl was brought back to Longview less than three months after being found there, to be released back to the wild.

“This story was a true miracle that was enjoyed by all of our members and staff,” says Don Vance, Longview’s Chief Executive Officer and General Manager. “As members of Audubon International, the environmental initiatives on our property include providing a ‘safe harbor’ for wildlife, along with managing safe agronomic practices to preserve the ecosystem.

“We now have over 35 acres located on our golf course that are fully dedicated to wildlife,” Vance adds. “These areas have indigenous plant materials, pristine waterways, and a number  of birds, deer, fox and other wild animals. We are not only providing a habitat for wildlife through these practices, but also providing a natural wilderness experience for our members to enjoy while playing golf. And when we can help a magnificent bird like this recover, it is truly gratifying.”