Funding Request Letter to Environment Minister Mary Polak

The following letter was sent to Environment Minister Mary Polak from Keith Lyall, BC Allied Golf Association's Environmental Advocacy Committee (EAC) Chair, Golf Course Superintendent at Sun Peaks Resort and WCTA Past President.  It was sent shortly after a meeting held in the Minister's office on Thursday, March 12th that was desgned to provide her an update on the committee's work toward creating an IPM standard for turf management in BC.

Dear Minister Polak,

Thank you for meeting with the Allied Golf Association’s Environmental Advocacy Committee (EAC) on Thursday March 12th in your office. I hope you found our meeting informative.

To recap some of what the committees has done to date:

1. We have had several meetings with Ministry staff, exchanging ideas and formulating plans as we move ahead.
2. Our committee has created an outline for the possible changes to assist our members and Ministry staff.
3. We have reviewed and updated association members on the new Water Sustainability Act, and we support these new regulations.
4. We have begun the process of updating our “IPM Manual for Turfgrass Mangers” and are changing from a “Manual” to a “Standard”  

The final point is what we talked about extensively in your office last Thursday, and although our committee did raise $46,000, we have used a majority of those funds for our retained lobbyist, meetings and related expenses. Some great news came during the conference from the British Columbia Golf Superintendents Association (BCGSA) with a donation of $5000. However there is still much work to do and as we watch our cash flow decrease, it becomes quite clear that few other groups within the golf business can do what the BCGSA has done.

Minister, please help our committee with a donation of $15,000 to assist us in developing the best “IPM Standard for Turfgrass Mangers”. Our vision is both an online and hard copy (if desired) that is easy to access information and is available at no charge to association members. This donation will also go to educating members on new legislation at regional events. I also believe that this donation will be seen as an act of good faith by the Minister and will ease the backlash when all golf courses in BC will be required to pay $250/year to maintain their Pesticide Use License.

Thank you again Minster Polak, from of our committee and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Keith Lyall, EAC Chair, WCTA Past President