SilverRock Resort in La Quinta begins installing new fence
Another wall was going up in the desert. This one aimed to keep bighorn sheep off of the golf course at the SilverRock Resort in La Quinta.
“It’s a shame because having played here so many times, they’ve never been a problem. They’ve been so close you can almost touch them,” said James Gibson, who has played at course since 2008. “Everyone who plays around them, they just have to stop in awe.”
“They don’t need to be here. They’re actually doing some damage to the greens,” countered Mark Johnson, who has played at the course since it opened. “When I first started playing here in 2005, we might have seen one or two sheep per year. Now we are seeing herds of them. Twenty at a time. It’s just not natural.”
The mayor of La Quinta, Linda Evans, told KESQ News Channel 3’s and CBS Local 2’s Katie Widner, that even she is on the fence about the issue.
“We believe it is an added amenity and benefit to see that wildlife in our backyard, so to speak, but we also recognize the importance of making sure they are preserved in their own natural environment. So the fence will help mitigate that,” Evans explained.
Evans said concerns were raised a few months ago by a couple of environmental agencies who wanted to protect the sheep, who have been migrating out of the hills onto the course for food and water, during upcoming development. City officials approved the temporary fence to keep the sheep out in December of 2016.
While some people on the golf course said it is a peaceful view to see the bighorn sheep graze, representatives for the Sierra Club said it is killing the species.
When it is finished, it is expected to look similar to one constructed by the Coachella Valley Water District in a neighboring area two seasons ago. It will stand roughly 8-feet-high and will span roughly 1-mile-long, encompassing an area of the course about to undergo realignment.
“This is the type of fence we are putting in right now on the golf course side. So what you see right now is the appearance of what the fence going in will be,” explained facilities director for the city, Steve Howlett.
Howlett wills also act as one of five monitors keeping an eye on the project.
The SilverRock fencing materials were treated with a top coat to help it blend into the background, however, some golfers said that is not enough.
“The anesthetics of the course are basically ruined. You’ve got this big fence bordering on the huge, natural beauty of the mountains,” said 7-year course player, Robert Cummins. “It’s just an eye sore. It’s a waste of money.”
Evans said construction of the temporary fence cost the city more than $800,000. She said, per a development agreement, the company building a hotel on the site will construct, and pay for, a permanent fence.
More details on the new hotel were expected to be announced on Thursday during a “State of the City” address at 9 a.m. at the Embassy Suites in La Quinta.
