Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Golf Course Certification

Current Status of Application:
Audubon International SAEP program manager, Scott Turner,
visited on the course on August 27th, 2024

The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is working toward becoming an Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Golf Course. We are currently in the early stages of this process.

Member #:  15001

The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf is an education and certification program that will help us maintain our golf course to protect our environment and preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf. The program will assist us “to take stock of its environmental resources and any potential liabilities, and then develop a plan that fits its unique setting, goals, staff, budget, and time.” — Audubon International

The elements of the program include:

        • Environmental Planning
        • Wildlife and Habitat Management
        • Chemical Use Reduction and Safety
        • Water Conservation
        • Water Quality Management
        • Outreach and Education

Who We Are

The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is a WPA-era wilderness resort at the top of the Keweenaw, with a history that dates back to 1934. We are on the state and national historic registers, and value educating visitors on how we marry history with the future to get to a vibrant and progressive present.

The golf course at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is a wilderness 9-hole golf course designed using the Keweenaw terrain, with spectacular views of Brockway Mountain and the surrounding wilderness environment. We are a historic wilderness golf course, not a golf course in the wilderness — so expect the course to be maintained in-line with the history of golf and along the lines of the natural landscape of the rugged Keweenaw. As part of signaling our history, the Lodge site, including the golf course, is on the state and national historic registers.

While public appearances are not guaranteed by wildlife, you will share the golf course with various wildlife native to the area. Our summer residents include the sandhill cranes, our little fox families, and of course, the deer, the chipmunks, and the squirrels. These birds and animals allow us to play on their golf course, so have your cameras ready!

Our Goal

We want to learn how to create a harmonious relationship between human recreation and the natural environment by adopting Audubon methods. We want to work with The Nature Conservancy (they currently own 32,000 acres surrounding the golf course) at encouraging the regrowth and revival of natural habitats, while still enabling humans to enjoy getting closer to nature, while enjoying outdoor activities, including playing a round of golf.

The guidelines that we are striving to follow with the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program (ACPS) is helping us expand our educational opportunities – a major value engraved in our DNA at the resort – our lodging is supported by outdoor activities, rustic worldly food, AND education.

How Will ACPS Help Us Succeed

We are not looking to get certified as a marketing resource. The certification process will help us better evolve our current practices and improve or implement new processes that will make us a better citizen of the world.
We hope that it will help golf enthusiasts better understand and appreciate the natural environment, rather than expect unnatural environments for the golfing playing field. This should help golfers be nature seekers.

We, as a team at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, look forward to progressing through the certification process to better our abilities to education and provide a wilderness golf course to golf enthusiasts.

 

Current Version

  • KML – Audubon International Sanctuary Golf Course Application v1 (v 1.0) 

Supporting Documents

Application progress / schedule:

  • September 12th, 2024: Certification Status Update from Scott Turner
  • August 27th, 2024: Scott Turner did a site visit to walk the golf course and the KML facilities
  • June 28th, 2024: Certification Status Update from Scott Turner
  • May 28th, 2024: Submitted our Environmental Planning Case Study
  • May 22nd, 2024: We scheduled our official site visit with Scott Turner to audit our assessment application at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge for August 27th, 2024
  • May 15th, 2024: Added Maximilian sunflowers to the “Monarchs in the Rough” plot, a beneficial pollinator plant
  • May 9th, 2024: We broke ground on our first 50 sqft “Monarchs in the Rough” plot by laying out corrugated cardboard, composting leaves and quality soil. We then sowed in the stratified milkweed seeds and watered them in for the following 7 days
  • May 8th, 2024: 20 tons of screened top soil was delivered for our “Monarchs in the Rough” project and for additional landscaping plans
  • May 3rd, 2024: We received our Certification Status Report and approval for the Water Conservation certification component
  • April 15th, 2024: We received our Certification Status Report documenting our approval of the SAEP certification component, as well as an Environmental Planning Award.
  • February 22, 2024: Submitted version 1.0 of application (and supporting document) to our Audubon International program manager, Scott Turner

Project Champions from the KML Team

  • John Mueller
  • Jenn Reed

 

Notes

  • Submitted our Environmental Planning Case Study about our Keweenaw Dark Sky Park. Our Monarchs in the Rough case study is in motion and we will share results at the end of the fall 2024.
  • Monarchs in the Rough
  • Bee Habitat

 


Compass: Keweenaw Mountain Lodge > Projects > Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Golf Course Certification

Last modified on October 21st, 2024 at 9:59 am