Integrated Pest Management Plan/Chemical Application Management Plan
Located on the northern end of the San Francisco peninsula, the Presidio of San Francisco is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is a National Historic Landmark. In 2000, Blankinship & Associates worked with the National Park Service and the Presidio Trust to prepare an Integrated Pest Management Plan/Chemical Application Management Plan (IPMP/CHAMP) for the Presidio Golf Course. Originally established in 1895 with five sand greens and four grass greens, the course is currently a 6,477-yard, par 72 public course that occupies approximately 160 acres.
The primary purpose of the IPMP/CHAMP was to provide overall structure and guidance for turf grass management that creates desirable playing conditions while protecting the natural resources and environmental quality of the course. The IPMP/CHAMP accomplished the following:
- Described cultural, mechanical, and biological, fertilizer, and irrigation strategies to achieve and maintain maximum turf health and vigor for specific areas of the course;
- Listed anticipated pests, monitoring methods, allowable damage thresholds, and control strategies for each pest in specific areas of the course;
- Provided information on the type and class of pesticides, considerations necessary for selection, methods and restrictions for application, and potential environmental considerations for pest control strategies requiring pesticides;
- Described methods for the monitoring of chemicals in surface, storm, and ground water; and
- Described mitigation, and correction action measures if chemicals are detected in surface, storm, or ground water.
As a result of this work, Presidio Golf Course earned the 2001 GCSAA National Environmental Leaders in Golf Award. The Blankinship team also designed and continues to implement a water quality monitoring plan to assess stormwater runoff.
