It’s deemed great exercise by disc golf players such as Bill Leddy, a Red Bluff resident who travels to Anderson to play the game on a weekly basis.

“You can’t hardly find a parking spot at the Red Bluff course,” said Leddy.

That might be why the Northern Flights Disc Golf Club in Anderson River Park is hoping to expand its course to 18 holes.

“Disc golf has been an active participant in the park for a number of years,” Jeff Kiser, Anderson’s assistant city manager, said earlier this month of the existing nine-hole course. “They came to the city with an expansion plan. We gave them some direction. They met with (California Department of) Fish and Game, and came back with a plan for a nine-hole expansion.”

Not so fast, say some Anderson residents.

“It’s a wildlife area out there,” said Doug Perdue. “They’re going in and they said they’re only cutting out the blackberries, but that’s a wildlife habitat.”

Perdue believes an Environmental Impact Report should have been completed prior to the DFG giving its approval.

“I feel it was done underhandedly,” said Perdue. “I feel they’ve never gone through the proper channels.”

Perdue isn’t the only one to feel that way. Local equestrians have also expressed concern.

“Don’t get me wrong when I say this,” said Merle Wolf who, along with his wife, Brenda, rides through the park on a regular basis. “Everyone has been very polite. The thing that concerns me is the wildlife. I’ve seen a bobcat there. We’ve seen deer numerous times. I’ve seen coyote back in there. That is my main concern.”

Another issue raised is the fear that golfers might accidentally hit a horse with one of the disc.

“That is a concern, yes,” said Wolf.

A call to the DFG office in Redding revealed that while Northern Flights Disc Golf Club did, indeed, meet with someone from that agency, it appears they spoke to the wrong person.

“We have no record in our (environmental review) branchof this project being submitted for review in terms of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act),” said Tricia Bratcher, acting supervisor of the DFG office.

That created enough concern for city officials to back up, Kiser said during an interview last week.

“The end result is to make a win-win for everyone,” said Kiser. “… that’s why we’ve continued this issue until the next (Parks planning) meeting to get better, correct information out to the public.”

That meeting will be held March 28 and Perdue hopes then to submit a petition against the expansion of the golf course.

“They’re going into one of the most prime areas of the park and trying to destroy that,” said Perdue. “It’s discouraging that they’re doing this.”

Kiser seems to understand the concerns.

“We want to look towards the future and where (expansion) should occur,” said Kiser. “… those are the kinds of things we’ll be discussing. How do we move forward? How do we accommodate everybody?”

For answers to those questions and more, residents are encouraged to attend the March 28 meeting at City Hall. The Parks and Recreation commission will meet in the Anderson City Council chambers at 5 p.m.

An e-mail seeking comments from the Northern Flights Disc Golf Club was not returned by deadline.