Golf courses plan for $1M after settlement

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - There could be a million-dollar windfall for a pair of area golf courses. It's all because 150 trees were killed two years ago by a herbicide that is now banned in Indiana.

In the summer of 2011, most of the pine trees at Coyote Crossing Golf Course and Battle Ground Golf Club started dying after they were treated with a herbicide called Imprelis made by DuPont.

"They started to die in all the areas that we put that down. Basically, once it got into the soil, it started to kill all the trees," said Shane Weist, General Manager of both Coyote Crossing and Battle Ground.

The state of Indiana banned the sale of DuPont that fall.  

Weist said the golf courses lost nearly 150 trees combined. But the golf courses weren't the only ones affected.

"There were a lot of residential areas and businesses. There were actually some lawn care companies that went out of business from the occurrence," Weist explained.

He said the golf courses are in the process of getting reimbursed by DuPont for the damage. He said an expert will come out and evaluate the size and worth of the trees. The amount of money the golf courses will get for some of them may be shocking.

"We had some trees that were worth $10,000 because they were 30-foot pine trees, so the monetary value is really good. It's a really good return," Weist said.

Weist believes the golf courses will receive nearly $1 million when the settlement is completed. However, it won't go towards replacing all of the trees.

"We'll actually put it back in other areas and try to improve the facility in other ways," Weist said.

Weist said just last summer, more trees were killed at Coyote Crossing because of Imprelis. Therefore, the settlement still isn't complete. He said Battle Ground received its money a couple of months ago.

Weist said residents and other people who were affected by using Imprelis have been calling him with updates on the settlement. He thinks DuPont tried working with businesses first and residents are next.