Impacts at Disc Golf

We've posted some photos here of trees and other vegetation heavily impacted by the sport of disc golf in Bidwell Park. Friends of Bidwell Park is concerned that disc golf is by no means environmentally neutral. These photos speak for themselves, but can not be compared to a visit to the site. Take Hwy. 32 4.8 miles east from Bruce Road and access Bidwell Park on the north side of the road, although no signs exist. There is a home on the south side of the road just past the course access.

If the proposed 45 holes of disc golf (36 now existing) are allowed permanently in Bidwell Park what will the cumulative damage be? What kind of precedent is the city willing to set?

Photos: Randy Abbott, Oct. 11 2004. Click on a photo to view a larger version.

Blue oak at edge of hole 4 fairway

Typical late-summer fairway condition

This oak has died since the course was established

Sap flows from scars on a young gray pine

Youch!

Fairway trees can lose foliage due to disc impacts

Manzanita are also subject to damage from disc impacts

This large blue oak at hole 10 was recently alive

Where you see red unvegetated soils, the thin top soil has been eroded away, exposing compacted red subsoils. The effects are:

• Reduced infiltration. The topsoil and its associated root-mass from grasses and forbs are necessary to allow infiltration of precipitation.
• Compounded erosion. Because the exposed subsoils are being compacted, further limiting infiltration, erosion is accelerated during storm events.
• Habitat deterioration. The ability of the soils to absorb water and provide sustenance for trees, shrubs and other vegetation is dramatically reduced.