enlarge Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

Theresa Ordway of Saco lines up her putt on the 18th green at Riverside Golf Course last week as Kenny Higgins of Portland holds the flag. Riverside is making changes in an effort to be certified “green” through Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program.

enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Judy and Gerry Ducharme of Falmouth play golf at Riverside Golf Course last week. Evergreen seedlings and no-mow areas on the course limit the runoff of pollution into the nearby Presumpscot River and the course’s water hazards.

Gene Pierotti walks toward a stream near the 17th fairway at Riverside Golf Course and looks down at a wide strip of bushy grass that clearly hasn't been mowed all summer.

Pierotti is the guy in charge of keeping the course beautiful, and he likes what he sees.

Portland's popular municipal golf course has been expanding no-mow areas like this one as part of an effort to keep polluted runoff out of waterways and reduce impacts on the environment. Pierotti's grounds crew also is planting young trees and shrubs, limiting fertilizer and pesticide use and making improvements to prevent pollution from drips or spills while fueling maintenance vehicles.

"There's just an awareness now -- it's the right thing to do," Pierotti said.

These days, all kinds of enterprises are touting their efforts to go green, shorthand for reducing environmental impacts. Now Riverside is one of a handful of public and private golf courses in southern Maine hoping to become some of the first courses in the state to be certified "green" through Audubon International's Cooperative Sanctuary Program.

While many consumers may not be sure what to make of the green label, conservationists say the trend has opened a door to changes in industries that have not always made environmental protection a priority.

"We will work with anybody that is willing to work toward improving their environmental footprint," said Joellen Zeh, who reviews golf courses for Audubon and recently visited Riverside and other Maine courses. "We find that a much more helpful way to move forward than telling people they're bad."

Audubon International, which is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society or Maine Audubon, is a nonprofit environmental education organization based in Selkirk, N.Y. It has registered more than 2,200 golf courses since its certification program began in 1991, according to Zeh.

There is only one Audubon certified golf course in Maine -- Portland Country Club. Several others are now working toward certification: Riverside, Falmouth Country Club, Sable Oaks Golf Club in South Portland, Val Halla Golf and Recreation Center in Cumberland, Sunset Ridge Golf Course and Rivermeadow Golf Course in Westbrook.

It can take a few years of gradual improvements to get certified. Riverside began last year and is already well on its way to meeting the standards, Zeh said.

Registered golf courses pay annual dues of $200 to be in the program.

Some improvements, such as planting trees or putting a roof over the fuel pump, cost money; while others, such as reducing pesticide use and mowed areas, save money.

Riverside and other nearby golf courses are getting financial help and technical support from conservation groups that see the effort as a way to protect and improve the Presumpscot River.

The Casco Bay Estuary Project and Presumpscot River Watershed Coalition are using part of a $740,000 federal river-cleanup grant for the golf course program.

Riverside is a key part of the effort because it sits on a 250-acre parcel of rolling hills directly next to the river, and the streams and ponds that serve as water hazards on the course drain directly into the Presumpscot.

Forrest Bell, an environmental consultant and a member of Presumpscot River Watch, said it's impossible to know what effect the golf courses have on the river because pollution comes from so many different sources.

Golf courses, however, are considered a potential threat to nearby waterways because of runoff that carries nutrients from fertilizers and toxic chemicals from pesticides.

Bell, who is a golfer, said he started thinking about those impacts about 12 years ago when he found dead birds in a pond at an out-of-state golf course. "I actually started to feel guilty" about golfing, he said.

Bell is leading the effort to green Riverside and other golf courses, providing advice and steering grant money...