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Greener Lawns Not 'Greener'

May 20, 2009 - If the lawns in your neighborhood look thicker and greener than they used to, there's an easy explanation.

The use of lawn fertilizers and pesticides increased a whopping sevenfold during the 12-year period ending in 2007, according to the state Board of Pesticides Control. In 1995, Mainers spread about 800,000 pounds of products on their lawns. In 2007, the number was 6.2 million pounds.

Gary Fish, the board's manager of pesticide programs, compiles the totals from wholesaler and applicator reports and has been wondering how high they can go.

Lawn chemicals – and carpet-like front yards – were unheard of when he grew up in Farmington, Fish said. But in the past 12 years, suburbanization has hit much of the state.

"I think that it's a lot of new subdivisions, and a lot of people moving into those subdivisions come from south of here, where lawn care has been the standard for a long time," he said.

Fish knows, having worked as a horticulturist for ChemLawn in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the 1980s. "They saw this trend a few years back. I think we're lagging behind," he said.

And, Fish said, one green lawn tends to lead to another.

"I also think that it's keeping up with the Joneses," he said. "People see it up and down the neighborhood, and they decide it's something they want, too."

It's no coincidence that at the same time lawns were getting greener, phosphorous and nitrogen began turning Maine's lakes and coastal bays greener, Fish said.

Fish and others have been trying to reverse the trend for several years with chem-free programs, including a Yardscaping demonstration project near Portland's Back Cove.

In the meantime, Fish is hopeful that our appetite for lawn chemicals has peaked.

For one thing, the number of commercial lawn pesticide applicators coming in to take licensing tests is down significantly, he said. That's mostly due to the economy, though, and might not be a long-term trend.

Other signs of change appear to be bigger than the economy.

Fish said he's getting more calls now from people who want to hire "green" landscapers who use fewer chemicals. And he's got a long list of companies helping to develop a certification program so they can prove to customers that they want the same thing.

The science of lawns has improved, too, so that landscapers are less likely to treat a yard the same way they treat a golf course. Some chemicals don't help the grass and can even make lawns more vulnerable to diseases or insects.

Hardware stores and other retailers around the state, meanwhile, are now posting state-mandated signs discouraging the use of lawn fertilizers with phosphorous, a nutrient that does little good for mature lawns but turns lakes green.

And a several coastal communities – Brunswick, Kennebunkport, Camden, Rockport and Castine – have adopted ordinances or policies that limit or discourage the use of lawn chemicals that can threaten groundwater or shellfish.

"I see definitely a lot more people who are trying to effect change who are not just the typical extreme environmental folks," Fish said.

That could mean the numbers are about to head down, even in the suburbs. Because if the Joneses are cutting back on the lawn chemicals, their neighbors probably won't be far behind.

JOHN RICHARDSON, Portland Press Herald, May 16, 2009


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