Slate of topics included water, agronomics, H-2B visas, and wildfire management

GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador Jim Culley, GCSAA Senior Director of Government Affairs Michael Lee, Seven Oaks Country Club Superintendent Tom Lipscomb and I met with Aaron Falk from the office of Congressman and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) in Bakersfield, CA on September 28.  Falk serves as a Field Representative for the Congressman and enjoys playing the game at a number of courses in and around the area.

Lipscomb played host to the meeting and lunch at the beautiful Seven Oaks Country Club in Bakersfield.  Culley, President of Seed King Enterprises serves as the ambassador for CA-23 and set-up the meeting with Falk to discuss a wide array of topics affecting the golf industry, both nationally as well as in California.

Lee focused on the latest attempts by the Biden Administration to redefine the “Waters of the United States” in the Clean Water Act.  The redefinition would repeal the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) which brought much better clarity to the definition of certain types of water bodies, such as tributaries and adjacent wetlands. In addition to the recent actions by the administration, a federal district judge in Arizona also recently vacated and remanded the rule, sending it back to the EPA and USACE at their request. Although the Biden administration intends to replace the rule with one of their own, they have released few details regarding the scope of a new rule.

The next topic of conversation was on H-2B seasonal visas. This program has seldom been utilized in California and the Southwest, but the recent inability to hire American workers has led some clubs to inquire about the program.  We spoke to Falk about the lack of available visas as well as the H-2B Returning Worker Exception Act that would create a permanent exception to the extremely low annual cap for H-2B workers who are returning to the United States within three years of their first time in the country. 

Water is always a hot topic in California and particularly so with California being in the midst of its worst drought in 116 years.  We discussed the need for more federal and state water storage projects in the Northern portion of the state as well as provided education to Falk on the water management and sustainability efforts of the golf industry in California. 

Lastly, a discussion was held on wildfire management in the state.  The golf industry had numerous clubs including Bailey Creek, Lake Almanor Country  Club, Lake Tahoe Golf Course and Tahoe Paradise Golf Course that were affected by this summer’s wildfire season.  Falk provided us with information on some of the federal level efforts to mitigate these natural disasters. 

A special thanks goes to Lipscomb and the Seven Oaks staff for their great hospitality, as well as Jim Culley for establishing a great relationship with the office of Congressman McCarthy.

Following the meeting, Culley shared his excitement about serving as an ambassador and having the ability to represent the industry in front of members of congress. “My willingness to serve the Association is like that of many other Ambassadors, keeping GCSAA front and center to our legislators. Doing so helps protect and promote the industry and I would encourage all GCSAA members around the country to get involved,” he said. “Advocating for golf course management is not only fun and easy, but also extremely rewarding to know our message is hitting home with those in public office making important decisions that impact the industry.”

64 grassroots ambassador positions remain open across the country, including 17 in California, 12 in New York, and 10 in Texas. If you are interested in becoming an ambassador or learning more about GCSAA’s priority issues, please don’t hesitate to contact your field staff representative, or Michael Lee, at mlee@gcsaa.org.