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For Heaven's Sake, Protect Your Lake!
12 Months to Becoming Green and Keeping the Lake Clean
We all love the lake for many different reasons. Maybe you're an angler, maybe
you're a boater, or maybe you're a sunbather who likes to lounge by the
lake. It is important that while we love our lake, we do not love it to
death. By following this twelve step program and taking on a new
responsibility to protect your lake every month,
we guarantee that at the end of 12 months YOU will BE GREEN
instead of the lake! Kudos to you for helping to Keep the Lake Clean.
January
Anything you throw into a river, stream, or even a storm drain is going to
end up in the lake. Those tiny cigarette butts are litter too. Dispose of
garbage properly and, yes you are going to hear it again, "Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!"
Start the New Year off making a greater effort to reduce your trash output and
increase your recycling. Save yourself time and set up a few containers in
your garage to sort recycling. You may want to sort your recycling as you go
along or maybe it is easier to keep a smaller container under your sink and
throw all recyclables in it until it is full and then sort it in the garage or
wherever you choose to place your sorting center. It's easy. It's simple.
It's stupid not to do it. For more information on what can be recycled and
how to recycle anything from cell phones to used greeting cards go to
www.obviously.com/recycle/.
February
Don't be the stink of the neighborhood! Make sure your septic system is not
leaking or overflowing by having the system inspected every two to four years
and pumped whenever necessary (a recommended 2-3 years for permanent residents and
5-6 years for seasonal residents). If you do not take care of your tank
properly, settled solids might wash into and clog your leach field as well as
contaminate groundwater. Yuck!
March
Time for spring-cleaning! Buy eco-friendly cleaners such as Seventh Generation/Harmony,
Ecos, Earth Rite, Ecover, and Life Tree. Dispose of any hazardous household chemicals
properly, not down sewer or storm drains. By reducing the amount of chemicals
going into your septic system, your system will stay balanced and avoid the
risk of groundwater contamination that may poison your well water and the lake.
Storm drains run directly into the lake so it is important not to "pour"
oil or any other hazardous chemicals into the drain. In the Lakes Region, Household
Hazardous Waste Day is held on the last Saturday in July. For more information on
where and when to dispose of your hazardous waste, contact your local town office
or the Lakes Region Planning Commission (603-279-8171).
April
Celebrate Earth Day! Plant trees, shrubs, and flowers on shorefront property (vegetative
buffers) as well as on other exposed areas near drainage systems. Vegetative
buffers help remove sediments and other nutrients from runoff before entering the
lake. Runoff traveling down driveways and camp roads directly into the lake
may be diverted through the woods or into a vegetated buffer. For examples of
species that work well as vegetative buffers in New Hampshire environments, refer to
the New Hampshire Lake Association's brochure "Vegetated Buffer
Strips" (to receive brochure e-mail
info@nhlakes.org or call (603)
226-0299). Belknap and Carroll County Conservation Districts hold their annual tree &
shrub sale in April (ordering deadline is usually in Feb/Mar) which offers a
large variety of native plants to choose from. Call BCCD at (603)527-5880 or CCCD
at (603)447-2771 for details.
May
It's time to build little Johnny that float you told him he could swim to
once he was old enough. Construct docks and floats with environmentally friendly materials.
Pressure treated and painted wood have chemicals proven to be harmful to
living organisms. Cedar, redwood, cypress, recycled wood/plastic, and aluminum
are all safe materials to use for dock and float construction.
June
Quack! Quack! You may be tempted to throw those cute waddling ducks a
cracker, but think twice before you do. There is plenty of natural food for the
ducks to feed on. Feeding them anything not naturally occurring in the watershed
will put unnecessary amounts of nutrients (duck poop) in the lake. The excess
nutrients (duck poop) act as excess fertilizer, which can result in algae blooms,
not to mention increasing the chances of getting duck itch.
July
Are your neighbors not talking to you because they are utterly disgusted at the
fact your lawn is brown? Well good for you! Grass is supposed to turn brown
over those hot dry periods. Don't worry, your grass isn't dead; it's just dormant.
The grass is taking a nap and will turn green once again when the conditions are
right.
If you are using fertilizer, do not try dumping more and more fertilizer on
your lawn to turn it green. Most likely there is more than one reason for your
lawn not being healthy. Have your soil tested by the UNH Soils Analytical Laboratory
to find out how much fertilizer and what type you really need (for more information
contact the UNH Cooperative Extension nearest you).
If you don't test your soil, try adding some lime to the lawn to counteract acidity and allow the nutrients present to be absorbed by the grass.
A few other tips for keeping your lawn healthy are:
- Aerate the soil with an aerating machine.
- Leave grass clippings on your lawn to act as a natural fertilizer and
irrigate your lawn.
- Keep grass long (at least 2 inches) to promote deeper roots and shade
to discourage weeds.
- Make sure your lawn mower blade is sharp (if the tips of the grass are
jagged after mowing, you need a sharper blade).
August
Going on vacation to enjoy the last few weeks of the summer sun? Bringing your
boat with you? Don't forget to make sure you are not transporting any nuisance
species such as milfoil into our lake or into any other lake. Inspect your boat
and trailer, particularly on the rollers of the trailer and on the boat motor.
Put any plant material or anything else you find in a trash bag and dispose of
properly. It is also recommended to wash your boat with very hot water away from
the lake, flush the motor, and let it dry for two days before launching it into
another body of water.
September
Don't do it in the lake! Using soap or phosphorus containing detergents to bathe,
wash boats, or anything else for that matter may cause algae blooms by increasing
phosphorus levels in the lake. Wash your car and boat over grass instead of
paved driveways or concrete. The grass and soil will help filter out the phosphorus
instead of allowing it to run directly into the lake. Whether in the city or
the country, cleaning up after "Benji" is a must so that we don't end
up swimming in his manure.
October
Wouldn't it be so easy to just rake the leaves from the yard right into the stream
behind our house? No mess, right? Wrong! Vegetative material will add phosphorus
and other nutrients directly into the lake as well as create excellent habitat
for leeches at your personal swimming area. Keep leaf piles and brush piles
at least 250 feet from the shoreline or 50 feet from any other drainage. Never
dump leaf or brush piles into the lake or any other drainage area such as
a stream, river, or storm drain.
November
Be like the pilgrims and serve a free-range turkey for Thanksgiving. It's better
for you and it's better for the turkey. Gobble! Gobble! Be thankful for the
lake; join LWWA and support our efforts in protecting the lake and surrounding
watershed.
December
Are you tempted to buy one of those tacky frosty white artificial Christmas trees
just like you had growing up? You may think an artificial tree is eco-friendly because
you will use it year after year, but studies show that most people get rid of
their fake trees after 6 years where they end up in a landfill. Artificial trees
are also made with petroleum-based products, nonrenewable resources, which produce
pollution during collection and synthesis of the products. Buy a real
Christmas tree grown on a tree farm where the trees benefit wildlife
habitat, stabilize soil, buffer water supplies, provide oxygen, and spread holiday
cheer. For more information on Christmas trees go to
www.realchristmastrees.org.
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