Sharp Park Golf Course Under Scrutiny

Sharp Park Golf Course is a beautiful golf course which was designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie and opened in 1932. Sharp Park is a San Francisco municipally-owned course located 10 miles south of Pacifica, California and is in the cross hairs of both golfers and environmentalists alike over its future.

Due to freshwater drainage coming from the golf course's irrigation, both the red-legged frog and the endangered San Francisco garter snake, which use the course as their home, are threatened and environmental activists have been pressuring San Francisco city officials to close the course and have the land used solely for these two endangered species.

After enormous pressure from the environmentalists the San Francisco Board of Supervisors decided in early May of this year to have the city's Recreation and Park Department look into the allegations and to see if there is a need to close the golf course and to turn either some or all of its acreage to a wildlife preserve for the snake and the frog. The report is due back to the Supervisors by August 31, 2009.

Furthermore, as the environmentalists have continued to lobby the city to close the course, golfers and others argue that it can remain an active golf course while at the same time still offering protection to the two threatened species. Additionally, complicating the issue is the fact that the city is legally liable for any harm that may come to the two species.

The study will cover three options for the golf course's future which will include:

- Keeping it an 18-hole course while preserving some areas for the frogs and the snakes.

- Or closing the golf course all together and creating a large preserve.

The report, which the Recreation and Park Department expects will be completed very soon, will then be looked over by the agency's commission. They will then consider the reports findings and will most likely make a final recommendation as to how to proceed with Sharp Park's future.