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fertilizer rates are not applied in the future and would set an example for other Cape Cod <br /> communities, as well as for residents and golf courses. <br /> The best management practices policy or bylaw could accommodate different application rates <br /> on specific property types(e.g.,Town Hall lawn vs. athletic field), and could specify which <br /> properties are fertilized(i.e., all others cannot be fertilized). A meeting with all parties involved, <br /> including representatives of the Pleasant Bay Alliance and relevant town departments (e.g.,Parks <br /> and Recreation, Public Works) could explore appropriate application rates for various property <br /> uses and other measures that would provide the basis for the best management practices. <br /> Implementation: Best management practices, including a policy to identify different application <br /> rates on specific property types and which properties are fertilized,would need to be adopted by <br /> the appropriate department in each municipality in the watershed or be incorporated into each <br /> municipality's comprehensive plan.Alternatively, a general bylaw could be adopted by each <br /> municipality in the watershed. To do this successfully, it would be necessary to build support <br /> and consensus for the bylaw by holding a meeting of municipal officials and towns' landscape <br /> maintenance personnel. <br /> Maintenance over Time: Once the best management practices policy or bylaw is developed and <br /> adopted by each municipality, limited to no resources would be required for long-term <br /> maintenance. There may be a need for implementation oversight,to ensure that municipalities <br /> adhere to the practices' requirements. <br /> Level of Nitrogen Reduction: Adopting a municipal fertilizer management policy or bylaw <br /> would however guarantee that nitrogen loads do not increase over time. These properties are not <br /> included in the current MEP model, and therefore nitrogen load reduction would be difficult to <br /> assess using the MEP model. <br /> Based on an analysis of aerial photography and MassGIS land use within the Pleasant Bay <br /> watershed,HW determined that the watershed includes approximately 15.4 acres of athletic <br /> fields. Assuming that nitrogen is applied to these fields at a rate of 3 lbs/1,000 sq. ft.,with a <br /> 20%leaching rate,this nitrogen input represents approximately 400 lbs, or 180 kg across the <br /> watershed. This estimate does not include other fertilized properties such as"high-visibility" <br /> properties for each municipality. If towns reduce nitrogen fertilizer applications to these fields to <br /> 1.5 lbs/1,000 sq. ft./year,this would represent an annual reduction of approximately 200 lbs of <br /> nitrogen input to the watershed. <br /> 5.2 GOLF COURSE FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT <br /> Golf course fertilization represents 8.3%of the controllable nitrogen load in the Pleasant Bay <br /> watershed and is therefore an item worth evaluating. Based on the data presented in Section 2, <br /> there may be opportunities to reduce golf course nitrogen loads while still maintaining healthy <br /> turf for golfers. In particular the opportunity to reduce fertilizer loadings on roughs can be <br /> explored. This could significantly reduce the overall nitrogen load associated with the golf <br /> courses. Reductions in fertilizer load'can be achieved through reducing the application rates for <br /> Pleasant Bay Fertilizer Management Plan 30 Horsley Witten Group,Inc. <br /> Final Report December 2010 <br />