Mesquite Grove maintains sanctuary status

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Carolyn Viss
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
The Mesquite Grove Golf Course is once again one of the only Department of Defense golf courses that has earned and maintained the moniker of "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" by the Big Country Audubon Society.

The other course is at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and the reason Dyess and they are the only bases to earn the title is that, in order to obtain certification as a wildlife sanctuary, courses must meet stringent criteria in several areas: environmental planning, wildlife and habitat management, outreach and education, chemical use reduction and safety, and water conservation and quality management.

Kim Walton, 7th Bomb Wing natural resources officer, said the course is re-certified every two years. This is an off-year for the Mesquite Grove; however, they will be preparing the 2007 package at the end of the year, and in preparation they have taken some extra strides to maintain their status.

"Mike Hosaflook and I built 27 bluebird nest boxes in February," Mr. Walton said. "A number of them are located throughout the golf course, and a number near the weapons storage facility. We've had great success with them and seen many more bluebirds nesting on base as a result."

Wildlife management is important throughout the DoD and at Dyess because the wildlife were here first, he said.

"We manage under the philosophy of stewardship - we've got to maintain what we have for the future generation," he said. "Besides, it's great fun to go out there and see animals on the course. Danny (Walters) does a great job of maintaining the golf course without using pesticides and many of the harmful chemicals other courses use."

None of the wildlife that residents and visitors will find at Dyess is a danger to humans unless people feed them, he said. Then they lose their fear of humans and could become more of a threat. The one exception to that rule is rattlesnakes.

"Not all snakes are bad," Mr. Walton said. "Only rattlers are a concern. We relocated 40 of them from housing to a safer area in March."
Wildlife is here to be enjoyed, not feared, he said.

"We're very fortunate to have a healthy, balanced wildlife population here," Mr. Walton continued. "They perform a function we need to appreciate and learn to live in harmony with. Balance is absolutely necessary."

He said the base needs those predatory animals to take care of rodents because the fewer rodents we have the less of a problem we have with raptors, which create bird air- strike hazards.