A disc golfer in Voorhees' Stafford Woods Park hones his skills last May.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will not force Voorhees Township to remove the unauthorized, but hugely popular, disc golf course from Stafford Woods Park on Evesham Road.
NJDEP, which had ordered the Township to dismantle and eliminate the 18-hole course on land protected by the state, has accepted a Voorhees plan to preserve the disc golf course and walking trail, Township Administrator Stephen J. Steglik told 70and73.com.
About 43 acres, or 60%, of the park is limited by its deed of conservation to only passive recreation, which is defined as walking, hiking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, bird watching, nature observation, fishing and hunting. The Township risked losing future open space funding if it did not comply with the shutdown order.
However, several course supporters emerged, including Mayor Michael Mignogna and the Voorhees Township Committee, disc golf activists and course designer Adam Harris and state legislative leaders from Camden County, Steglik said. Environmental Resolutions Inc. will continue to work with Voorhees to comply with the state's plan, he said.
The course is viewed by many disc golfers as one of the top disc venues in New Jersey. A disc golf website shows sponsored tournaments scheduled this Saturday, a Saturday in April and a weekend in May.
Volunteers had built the course, first nine holes and then nine more, and they continue to maintain it. However, like the park, it is open to the public.
To comply with the NJDEP, the Township must provide a detailed planting plan that "includes, at a minimum, mitigation for the 90 trees that were removed from the site," according to the state's response to the Township proposal. The plan also should explain how shrubs will be replaced to "compensate for the understory that was removed."
NJDEP said a site visit showed that "significant areas" could have understory shrub plantings restored without impacting the disc play.
Previous 70and73.com coverage: Controversial Decision: Popular Voorhees disc golf course on Township property to be closed by state.
The plan also requires the Township to clear all obstructions from the original Stafford Walking Trail "to minimize deviations of the trail and encourage use of the trail as delineated in the deed," according to the NJDEP letter.
Pallets, wood and paver piles, tents, tables and chairs must be removed from the part of the park limited by the deed of conservation, the NJDEP said.
The Stafford Woods Park and disc golf course is in the orange border. Saddlehill Cellars is to the left.
