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Fall Lawn Care Tips for a Healthy Lake
A healthy lake and clean water are of great importance to us all. This month, I have asked the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy to share with us some fall lawn care tips that will help promote a beneficial lake environment.
Many people don't realize that the way they manage their own lawns affects the health of vital habitats for plants and animals and the quality of the water we use for drinking, swimming, and fishing.
Your land need not be on a lakefront for your lawn care to matter. All land is in a watershed: water drains from every yard into some water body.
Autumn is a critical time to protect our water quality. Every fall, property owners repeat the cycle of managing fallen leaves. What you do with these leaves can benefit or harm the environment of your lawn as well as the lake.
The best thing to do with leaves is to mow them frequently with a mulching mower. The nutrients in the leaves will be released back into the ground and nourish the trees. The same is true for your grass clippings. If you cannot mulch all of the leaves into your lawn, collect and compost them to improve your garden soil. Compost is a wonderful resource for increasing the moisture-holding capacity and fertility of soils and encouraging beneficial organisms such as earthworms.
Things not to do: Please never dump your leaves, tree branches, or gardening debris into streams, waterways, or onto flood plains. These materials may then be swept away by storm waters into Chautauqua Lake or other bodies of water. This can then help fuel nuisance plant growth and accelerate filling of the lake with sediment. Also, avoid burning leaves, as it's a cause of air and water pollution.
The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy (CWC) is a local, non-profit organization with the mission to preserve and enhance the water quality, scenic beauty, and ecological health of the lakes, streams, and watersheds of the Chautauqua region. The CWC is primarily supported by private grants and membership donations. For further information or to join, call the CWC office at (716) 664-2166.
Note: Lawn care information was compiled by CWC utilizing The Homeowner's Lawn Care and Water Quality Almanac, written by Eva Gussack and Frank S. Rossi, Ph.D.
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