The Preserve Golf Club Celebrates Eight Years as a Signature Sanctuary

(Vancleave, MS) - The Preserve Golf Club, the only golf course in Mississippi to be certified through the Audubon International Signature Program, has been recognized for continued sustainable management of natural resources. The Preserve joined the Signature program in 2004, before construction began. The Preserve opened in 2006, was certified though the Signature Program in 2007, and has been recertified by Audubon International as a Certified Signature Sanctuary.

In the past few years, The Preserve has renovated greens, collars and bunkers, dug a new irrigation well, and evaluated existing tree shade to improve the health of the greens. Throughout these changes, The Preserve staff has maintained a commitment to the environment.

“The Preserve Golf Club is honored again to be recognized for our commitment to environmental stewardship by Audubon International,” said Stephen Miles, Director of Operations for The Preserve. “Environmental stewardship is a great business plan for the game of golf. Environmental stewardship simply means being efficient with the resources we use on a daily basis. We want the nutrients and medicine we apply to stay on target and not be wasted down our rivers and streams. It just makes good business sense!”

The 110 acre golf course has 18 holes and was designed by Jerry Pate. It sits on a 245 acre site with eight acres of lakes and over 4,000 linear feet of naturalized shoreline. Nature Conservancy land to the south, US Fish & Wildlife lands to the west, Old Fort Bayou Mitigation Bank to the east, and Cypress Bog to the north create a total of 1800 acres of dedicated nature preserve surrounding the golf course. The Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge located just west of the property is inhabited by the endangered Mississippi sandhill crane. These cranes occasionally use the golf course for food and shelter. The wetlands of Fort Bayou run through the golf course, providing an excellent wide vegetative corridor for the movement of wildlife through the property. “The native surroundings of pitcher plant bogs, cypress swamps, long leaf pine savannah, live oak groves and native grass prairies all guided the design of the course as it was laid into this natural setting,” said Nancy Richardson, Signature Program Director for Audubon International, during the required staff visit to the property.

The Signature Program provides environmental planning assistance to new facilities and developments and helps landowners design for the environment so that both economic and environmental objectives are achieved. To become recertified, Signature Program members must demonstrate their continued commitment to the Principles for Sustainable Resource Management as outlined in their site-specific Natural Resource Management Plan. This plan addresses wildlife conservation and habitat enhancement, water quality monitoring and management, integrated pest management, water conservation, energy efficiency, waste reduction and management, and the adoption of green building products and procedures.

To learn more about The Preserve Golf Club, go to www.preservegc.com.

About Audubon International
Audubon International is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) environmental education organization dedicated to providing people with the education and assistance they need to practice responsible management of land, water, wildlife, and other natural resources. To meet this mission, the organization provides training, services, and a set of award-winning environmental education and certification programs for organizations, properties, new developments, and entire communities. The Signature Program premiered in 1993 and is focused on promoting sound land management practices and appropriate land use changes based on sound scientific research. Signature Sanctuaries are currently located in 29 states and in Canada, Puerto Rico, China, Portugal, and Spain.

For more information, visit the website at www.auduboninternational.org.