By Susana Ives
Last month, Marin County succeeded in lining up a multi-million dollar grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board that would enable the county to buy the San Geronimo Golf Course for public open space and restore salmon habitat. But because of a lawsuit brought by golfers seeking to prevent the purchase, that grant is now in limbo.
Despite golfers’ declared allegiance to their local links, the San Geronimo Golf Course was long losing money. The 50-year-old, 157-acre property, zoned for commercial recreational development, had been on and off the market for years. In 2016 Marin County stepped up to buy it for public open space.
The Trust for Public Land agreed to buy and hold the property while the County raised $4.94 million in outside funding to make the purchase possible. Meanwhile, hundreds of Marin residents wrote letters, signed petitions, and spoke at public hearings in support of the purchase. Students, educators, scientists, wildlife advocates and conservation groups, including the Sierra Club, testified at several Supervisors' meetings on behalf of public recreation, environmental education and restoring Coho salmon—a state- and federally listed endangered species, a few of which still spawn in creeks that transect the golf course.
For decades the golf course had permission to divert up to six-and-a-half million gallons a year from Larsen Creek that, along with the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides, has kept the golf course green at the expense of the Coho and other wildlife.
The California Wildlife Conservation Board grant would fund the purchase the golf course for public park land and help restore its salmon habitat. But in a jaw-dropping vote at its March 27 meeting, Marin Supervisors approved a contract with Touchstone, a golf course management corporation, which will keep the golf course open for the next two years, and possibly for up to four years. The agreement commits up to $280,000 over two years to cover any potential losses to Touchstone.
It’s unclear what the agreement to keep the golf course open means for the California Wildlife Conservation Board grant. Golfers and open space advocates will face off at public hearings to be held in the coming months to decide the future use of the land.
Although Marin taxpayers will be footing the bill in the meantime, few will be able to enjoy the land. The property, which was opened to the general public on January 1, will be returned exclusively to the golfers on April 15.
Photo from www.golfsangeronimo.com.