WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Residents in Wausau will likely have the option to not be penalized for not mowing their lawn for a month this spring.
Tuesday evening the Wausau Public Health & Safety Committee discussed a resolution to suspend City Municipal Code regarding lawn mowing for the initiative “No Mow May”. The initiative began in Appleton in 2020 as a way to protect native bee pollinators.
Heading up the scientific portion of the initiative in Appleton was Lawrence University Assistant Professor of Biology Israel Del Toro. Del Toro spoke with the Committee by WebEx Tuesday evening, explaining that the initiative is to provide early season forage for emerging native pollinators by reducing mowing intensity during a month where foraging resources are limited.
“No Mow May isn’t just about not mowing. We are also encouraging participating members to participate in other ways. Planting native wildflowers, or increasing nesting habitats for bees. Or maybe reducing the chemicals that you apply to your lawns,”.
Del Toro says the program was successful in Appleton both from a community engagement perspective and a scientific perspective.
During the program’s first run in 2020, it resulted in ~35% more floral resources (abundance and diversity) available to native pollinators by the end of the month. The increased diversity then translated to a five-fold increase in wild bee abundances and three-fold increase in wild bee diversity.
After the presentation three members of the committee spoke about how their district residents were split on the idea of No Mow May. Residents that were opposed to the initiative were concerned about potentially increasing tick populations and potential weeds.
Del Toro says Appleton closely looked at it’s tick populations in lawns in 2020 to keep residents safe. “When we did our survey of ticks, we actually saw no difference between mowed and unmowed areas.
“Maybe folks are looking for ticks a little bit more closely when lawns are getting a little bit longer than when lawns are relatively short. But as far as anecdotal data from Appleton, we are not seeing any significant increase in ticks,”.
Committee members were also concerned about the process for registration in the initiative to make sure residents were not leaving their lawns unmowed due to other issues. Del Toro says the project would compile a list of households participating in the project and sending it to City Staff for reference.
In discussion of the registration process, Committee members amended the proposed No Mow May resolution to only apply to residents who register for the initiative. District 6 Alder Becky McElhaney said she’d support the revised resolution as her residents have very strong feelings about their lawns.
“I don’t want to make people go through hoops, I don’t. But I have a very divided citizenry right now. And the people that are for it are all for it. Or the people who are against it are all against it. There’s just no middle ground. And lawns tend to be an issue in my district,”.
Following about 25 minutes of discussion the Committee approved the amended resolution on a 4-1 vote. District 7 Alder Lisa Rasmussen was the lone no vote on the resolution, citing her district resident’s strong objection to the initiative. Rasmussen said her vote could change for next week’s Common Council meeting depending on what feedback she hears from residents.
The amended resolution now goes onto the Common Council for final approval. The resolution does limit No Mow May to only 2021 but could return to the City for future years if the initiative goes well.
