The Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA) is seeking feedback and input into the development of guidelines for wildlife management methods at sports turf facilities.

The association has been working with various state governments over the past 18 months and has been asked to join a selected group of organisations to determine the extent of the issue and provide input into a national approach.

In conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, and State/Territory Departments of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, the project aims to develop effective management methods to assist in reducing damage to turf playing surfaces from wildlife including corellas, cockatoos and galahs.

Problem birdlife (primarily long-billed corellas, sulphur-crested cockatoos and galahs), have created challenges for sports turf managers over many years (pictured above is recent damage to Ballarat GC in Victoria). The severity of the problem has resulted in tens of thousands of dollars damage and many hours of remedial action by turf managers to repair greens, wicket blocks and other turf infrastructure. On average, the volume of birdlife impacting facilities, while fluctuating between states and migratory patterns over the past decade, has increased significantly and the issue to manage and control wildlife remains of significant concern.

A number of management and control methods have been adopted by turf managers in the past, and the ASTMA is seeking member input to understand these methods, impacts and outcomes, in order to provide detailed feedback into the development of national guidelines. The area of focus for this national program is to understand current control methods of dealing with wildlife, options available to turf managers and the community to manage wildlife damage and develop recommendations as to a seasonal course of action to reduce corella, cockatoo and galah issues on the turf at sport and recreation facilities.

Click here to read more about the project and to provide your feedback.