Audubon Project Update Fall 2026

During the summer months, The Pusch Ridge Golf Course hosted Disc Golf, which included significant league play on the weekends. Meanwhile, the work of the Resource Advisory Group for the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf (ACSP) continued.

The butterfly gardens, planted during the golf season last winter, were watered BY HAND almost daily over the summer by ACSP advisors Peter Leuzinger and Jim Schilling, and are currently being consolidated into one flourishing butterfly garden along the south side of the Hole #6 fairway. The pollinator plants placed around the pond on #5 will remain in place but will be cut back as the course is being prepped for the golf season.

7 Owl and 9 Flycatcher Bird nest boxes, purchased by individual ACSP supporters over the past year, were installed this summer in the trees around the course, again thanks to Schilling and a crew from the Oro Valley Parks & Rec Department. Their efforts were supported and orchestrated by a representative from the Tucson Bird Alliance who made recommendations for the best locations for the boxes in the coming years. These boxes join the 11 smaller Lucy Warbler nest boxes already installed over the winter months by the advisory group. Walkers and golfers should “look up” as they make their way around the course to try spotting these additions.

To accommodate a much-needed drainage and beautification project between Hole #1 and the pro shop, the Cactus Garden was moved closer to the parking lot along the north side of the cart path, across from the ADA ramp. Volunteer Scott Creeger was instrumental in assisting the El Con agronomy team in making sure the cacti and the accompanying signage successfully made the trip. Additional work will be done on the cactus garden itself once the overseeding work is completed.

The Audubon pages of the Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf (FOPRG) website were updated over the summer to reflect the many changes. To read about the history of the project and see photos of some of the progress, go to www.friendsofpuschridgegolf.org.

Certification was approved by ACSP for the Outreach and Education requirements. The Case Study for the butterfly gardens and the Wildlife and Habitat Management work were submitted with certification approval expected soon. Three additional areas to complete the entire certification requirements will be submitted over the winter months, with final certification as an ACSP Golf Course expected next Spring.