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services as `Bay Friendly' and the Alliance could encourage citizens to look for that designation <br /> when hiring landscaping professionals. <br /> Implementation: The training should focus on successful turfgrass management strategies and <br /> should vary each time to promote continued attendance. A sampling of the topics to cover in an <br /> initial workshop includes: <br /> • The concerns with nitrogen in fertilizers and how it impacts the health of coastal <br /> estuaries; <br /> • Opportunities to reduce fertilizer use on lawns, gardens, and landscaped areas; <br /> • Alternatives to traditional fertilizer practices: <br /> o Organic products; <br /> o Kelp; <br /> o Beneficial microorganisms; <br /> o Foliar applications of fertilizers; <br /> o Compost; and <br /> o Compost teas; <br /> • Lawn alternatives; and <br /> • Case studies on successful nitrogen reduction programs. <br /> Having a local educational opportunity is important to promote attendance given the costs for <br /> overtime and travel expenses for people that have to travel to more distant locations. The <br /> workshop should be designed to provide continuing education credits from the Golf Course <br /> Superintendents Association, the Northeast Organic Farmers Association and/or the <br /> Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professionals as this promotes greater attendance. In <br /> addition, if funding could be found to support such training, it can reduce the cost for participants <br /> and boost interest in the course. <br /> Maintenance over Time: Training courses could be held on an annual or biannual basis and <br /> could be updated with new information or new lawn care techniques as they are identified. <br /> Level of Nitrogen Reduction: No specific reduction in nitrogen load can be attributed directly to <br /> this training. However, it will promote increased knowledge of these issues and will likely result <br /> in changes in lawn care practices for residential properties,town facilities and golf courses. As <br /> personnel changes over time, continuing the training on a regular basis would help support <br /> proper lawn care practices into the future. <br /> 5.6 LAWN SIZE LIMIT FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT <br /> Restricting the size of new lawns will directly reduce the amount of fertilizer applied to the turf <br /> and could be readily quantified in the context of achieving compliance with the Pleasant Bay <br /> TMDLs. This can be done through the adoption of amendments to each town's zoning bylaw <br /> that limit the size of new lawns to less than 2,500 sq. ft. This would reduce the impact of lawn <br /> fertilizers associated with new construction by 50%or more, as most lawn areas are typically <br /> 5,000 sq. ft. or larger. Additionally, a sliding scale could be incorporated. For example,those <br /> parcels smaller than 1 acre are allowed a maximum of 2,500 sq. ft. of lawn area, while those <br /> Pleasant Bay Fertilizer Management Plan 36 Horsley Witten Group, Inc. <br /> Final Report December 2010 <br />