A golf course is the first to enroll in the Safe Harbor program.

IMAGINE, if you can, an innovative program that has garnered the support of the seemingly incongruous coalition of business, environment, government and golf. If such a notion seems too good to be true, then you haven't heard about the U.S. Department of the Interior's "Safe Harbor" habitat conservation plan that helps endangered species find refuge on private lands.

The first private landowner in the nation to enroll in this effort is the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in North Carolina, which will assist in helping the threatened red-cockaded woodpecker enjoy a haven in its surrounding sandhills and old-growth pine forests.

The red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) is a federally endangered species native to the pine forests of the U.S. The name of the seven-inch-long bird is derived from the distinctive red crest on its head that resembles the cockade, or badge, of an 18th-century military hat. The RCW excavates nesting cavities in live pine trees usually more than a century old; an average cavity takes six years to complete. These birds were found as far north as Maryland and as far west as Texas, but the population has dropped severely as pine groves were cleared for agriculture or forestry.

Today the RCW seems to thrive in Pinehurst's golf environment. Cavity trees are available in the rough, next to greens and even within fairways. RCWs prefer such open pine forests to regions where hardwood trees compete with pines to create a dense forest that encourages predators to scavenge nesting areas. In fact, it seems that the combination of residual old pines, protection from logging and open forest along fairways has, in some instances, actually promoted an increase in RCW populations since the property's development.

Safe Harbor, officially known as the North Carolina Sandhills Habitat Conservation Plan, represents a novel approach toward habitat and wildlife conservation. It gives landowners an incentive to become stewards of their property by offering a guarantee that these owners will not be subject to restrictions under the Endangered Species Act after they succeed in attracting threatened species to their land and later decide to convert the property to alternative uses. Landowners must sign a cooperative agreement with the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service to participate.

"This proposal uses the flexibility of the current Endangered Species Act to introduce a new conservation concept," Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior, said when introducing the program. "This proposal serves as a model for new ways to work with private landowners to resolve concerns about endangered species, not only in North Carolina but across the country."

One of the major proponents of the plan remains Brad Kocher, director of golf course and grounds maintenance at Pinehurst. "We knew the golfers like our courses but we were happy to learn that woodpeckers find them a good substitute for their disappearing natural habitat," Kocher said. "We're pleased to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enhance their habitat."

Golf courses often provide one of the best habitats for many types of wildlife, especially in highly developed regions. Pinehurst's participation in the Safe Harbor program demonstrates how the game can become a leader in this field, and serve as an example and inspiration for other facilities to work to benefit all living creatures found on their acreage.

-- Marty Parkes