Best Management Practices for Maryland Golf Courses

highly erodible soils, and of vegetative buffer strips; submitting a narrative describing how erosion and sediment control will be integrated into the stormwater management strategy; and providing a detailed sequence of construction that describes how the grading unit restriction will be met. Adhering to the planning principles should result in development that better fits existing site conditions and reduces both the extent and duration of soil disturbance during construction.

Best Management Practices

• Develop a working knowledge of erosion- and sediment-control management. • Develop and implement strategies to effectively control sediment, minimize the loss of topsoil, protect water resources, and reduce disruption to wildlife, plant species, and designed environmental resource areas. • Hydro-seeding or hydro-mulching offer soil stabilization.

Wetlands

Wetlands act both as filters for pollutant removal and as nurseries for many species of birds, insects, fish, and other aquatic organisms. When incorporated into golf course design, wetlands should be maintained as preserves and separated from managed turf areas with native vegetation or structural buffers. Constructed or disturbed wetlands may need to be permitted to be an integral part of the stormwater management system as discussed in the Regulatory Considerations section of this chapter and in the "Surface Water Management" chapter.

Best Management Practices

• Ensure that proper permitting has been obtained before working on designated tidal or nontidal wetlands or 100-year floodplains. • Ensure that wetlands have been properly delineated before working in and around them.

Figure 1. Wetland area incorporated into the golf course design. Photo credit: Joseph Roberts.

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