Article 79 Recap
On night two of Annual Town Meeting, Nantucket residents voted YES on Article 79 to ban fertilizer. After a spirited debate between fishermen and landscapers and discussion of revisions to the proposed ban, Town Meeting attendees voted 347 to 105 in favor of the ban. The ban was submitted as a home-rule petition, which means that it needs to the State Legislature for approval. So let’s dive into what it all means…
Why is fertilizer an issue on Nantucket?
The use of fertilizer to treat lawns has become excessive in recent years with the increased development taking place on island. When fertilizer is used on lawns, especially in the Nantucket Harbor Watershed, it runs off into the harbor and overloads the water with nutrients. Those nutrients then lead to the overgrowth of macro and micro algae, namely lyngbya, a thick, black, slime-like algae that smothers eelgrass and shellfish.
The grey buildup is lyngbya, a an algae that is smothering eelgrass throughout the harbor.
Why is a ban on fertilizer important?
The Town of Nantucket has had fertilizer regulations in place for a decade and yet we continue to see a decline in water quality, eelgrass habitat, and shellfish (namely bay scallop) populations. The time is NOW to make a strong change in how we view and treat lawns so that we can preserve our harbor and shellfishery for generations to come.
What does the vote mean and what happens next?
The vote means that the residents of Nantucket have made a clear statement: fertilizer has no place here. Officially, the article will go to the State Legislature in the fall and we will be advised whether or not a ban will stand.
Perfectly manicured lawns where fertilizer runs directly into Nantucket Harbor.
What can we do in the meantime?
Talk to our landscapers, talk to our neighbors, talk to our friends. The more conversations that we have about the negative effects of fertilizer the better! From there we can start to rethink our lawns. There are many simple steps that we can all take on our own lawns to decrease fertilizer use and support our harbor water quality!
Stop treating your lawn. Nantucket has a gorgeous, temperate climate and you can have a beautiful lawn without chemicals.
Decrease your green space. You can reduce the amount of your lawn that is dedicated green, grass space, and instead allow parts of your lawn to return to natural meadowlands.
Reintroduce native plants. When we bring flowers and plants that are not native to Nantucket and its climate, they require much more treatment and attention. By returning to native species, your plants will naturally thrive on island!
