Department Of Fish And Game To Decide Fate Of Pacifica Golf Course

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— A judge in a San Francisco federal court ruled Friday that the California Department of Fish and Game should decide Sharp Park Golf Course's future.

The department has been empowered to decide whether the Pacifica golf course should continue to operate and under what conditions.

It all stems from a lawsuit filed last spring over alleged Environmental Protection Act violations. Environmentalists have said golfing and pumping water off the course during the winter rains kills California red-legged frog eggs and mowing the course kills garter snakes.

San Francisco Deputy City Attorney Jim Emery said the city has been working with the Dept. of Fish and Game to ensure the species are protected.

KCBS' Susan Kennedy Reports:

"We have developed procedures for operating the golf course that allow the frog to thrive and create a habitat for the snake. The frog populations have increased dramatically in the last 10 years," he said.

Emery added that he was astounded to learn that the plaintiffs chose to sue the city.

Brent Plater with the Wild Equity Institute said thousands of frog eggs were destroyed this winter.

"I've been around Endangered Species Act lawsuits for over 10 years and I've never seen as many dead bodies killed by one entity in my entire legal career. If the city thinks that's doing a good job then they're more callous then I could ever have imagined," Plater said.

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