Our Environment
Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary since 2008
At Queenstown Harbor, we truly believe that our land is part golf course and part wildlife sanctuary, and we base our decisions on being good stewards of the land we work and play on.
We have been a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary since 2008, and our turf experts employ best management practices and Integrated Pest Management to minimize inputs at our site. Wildlife habitat creation, water conservation and reduced pesticide usage are also vital to maintaining the integrity of our land.
Queenstown Harbor has been recognized for its extensive conservation efforts, and even won the “Environmental Leader in Golf Award” from Golf Digest and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
Water
Conservation
Integrated Pest
Management
Solar Energy
Array
Queenstown Harbor captures 80 percent of the rainfall and stores it in ponds for irrigation, conserving water and reducing runoff. Keeping nitrogen out of streams and rivers is key to protecting the Chesapeake Bay, and this careful management approach has lowered the nitrates and nitrogen in the groundwater compared to the farm that preceded the golf course.
QUEENSTOWN HARBOR
Grass
The fairways at Queenstown Harbor are a beautiful Patriot Bermuda grass. The greens are a type of turf grass called bentgrass. Bentgrass consists of very thin blades of grass densely packed together that offers a smooth surface for perfect putts. Bentgrass is a popular choice for golf courses in the area and event the choice for Augusta National.
In addition, Queenstown Harbor has a wide variety of native grasses that grow around Queenstown Harbor. Along the shorelines you’ll find wetlands with a variety of Chesapeake Bay vegetation. The inland are freshwater lakes offer a new variety of native plants.
Queenstown Harbor and The Golf Club at South River incorporate wide buffers of no-mow zones around ponds and streams and along the riverside. These buffers take up nutrient and chemical pollution that would otherwise run into the river or leach into shallow groundwater.
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Wildlife
There are several species of birds that call Queenstown Harbor home. Most notably are the Osprey that arrive in mid-March after completing a long journey from South America. They return to South America by mid-October and will return, often to the same exact nests, to start families and fish from the abundance of the Chesapeake Bay.
Bald eagles grace us with their presence regularly and can often be seen flying high above the River Course or scanning the shorelines. Blue herons are often spotted along the shorelines both on the river and lakes course they also quietly hunt the freshwater ponds as small fish can be found in both.
“Beautiful courses in great condition. Love the wildlife: deer, turkey, osprey, heron, eagles, fox.” – Online Review from Facebook
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“Had a great time at Queenstown Harbor today. We played the Lakes course and the pace was good. We saw a lot of wildlife on the course. Too bad I wasn’t able to get pictures of the bald eagles!” – Patty A. via Yelp
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Native Maryland Trees
Queenstown Harbor is home to many species of trees that line the fairways, wrap around the shorelines, and deep protected pockets of forest. You’ll notice a variety of tree groupings as you play both courses. Often consisting of Eastern White Pines, Oaks, Maples, Dogwoods and Evergreens. These trees are also home to a wide variety of animals live on the golf course. They offer protection from predators and give the osprey bald eagles a wonderful vantage point for finding their next meal along out shores.