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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Here are some additional resources on pollinator-friendly gardens:
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><a href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/choosing-pollinator-friendly-native-plants-in-home-gardening-or-landscaping">Choosing Pollinator-Friendly Native Plants in Home Gardening or Landscaping | Mass.gov</a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Best,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Nadia Madden, CFM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Floodplain Management Specialist</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Flood Hazard Management Program<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">MA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual"><a href="mailto:nadia.madden@mass.gov"><span style="color:#0563C1">nadia.madden@mass.gov</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">phone: (857)287-1603<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/guides/floodplain-management"><span style="color:#0563C1">www.mass.gov/guides/floodplain-management</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces@masscptc.org>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Rebecca Bachand via MassPlanners<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, July 5, 2024 11:54 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Harry LaCortiglia <hlacortiglia@comcast.net><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Rebecca Bachand <rebecca.bachand@rbladesign.com>; massplanners@masscptc.org<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Massplanners] mowing requirements<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">CAUTION: This email originated from a sender outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts mail system. Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize
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<p class="MsoNormal">I love seeing so much interest from planners in more naturalized landscape approaches! You might all be interested in following Ben Vogt, whose efforts at growing and maintaining a prairie yard in a typical subdivision got him a lot of
experience in addressing these concerns. He even has tips to avoid getting fined by the community/HOA: <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.monarchgard.com/thedeepmiddle/simple-ways-to-avoid-fines__;!!CPANwP4y!SiYO8S3peLP22EkkmaqdQsEO8cvSGxjcFpSTEpSsaqZCW3GbT_skTjROaBCNfwpqlBAVXuQ885_eoL-GGWfri1g9HsGP$">Monarch
Gardens</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">"Cues to Care" are integral to the acceptance of these efforts, and as noted by others can be hard to define. <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Research from UMASS by Susannah Lerman and her team indicates mowing every two weeks is ideal for maintaining lawns at a "respectable" (to your neighbors) level while allowing growth of plants supporting birds, bees, and other insects.
Unfortunately, the links to her easy to share graphics, etc seem to be broken, but maybe a hunt through her publications will offer good info:: <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/research.fs.usda.gov/about/people/sblerman*products-tab__;Iw!!CPANwP4y!SiYO8S3peLP22EkkmaqdQsEO8cvSGxjcFpSTEpSsaqZCW3GbT_skTjROaBCNfwpqlBAVXuQ885_eoL-GGWfri6nh-Z_s$">Susannah
B. Lerman, Research Ecologist, USDA.gov</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">An article from PENN cites <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.pennlive.com/life/2022/08/bee-lawns-a-lazy-mower-way-to-help-pollinators.html__;!!CPANwP4y!SiYO8S3peLP22EkkmaqdQsEO8cvSGxjcFpSTEpSsaqZCW3GbT_skTjROaBCNfwpqlBAVXuQ885_eoL-GGWfri0kDY6kL$">
Minnesota Extension/UMN Bee Labs</a>' 4-inch mowing height recommendation, but when I mow our lawn to 3" my husband doesn't think I've cut it at all! <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">(The struggle is real, even for Landscape Architects!)<br clear="all">
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<p><strong><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Rebecca Bachand</span></strong><span style="font-size:9.5pt">, RLA, </span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#2F3941">LEED AP®</span><span style="font-size:9.5pt">, ASLA</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p style="margin:0in"><span style="color:#999999">781-686-4486</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="color:#999999"><img border="0" width="96" height="68" style="width:1.0in;height:.7083in" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4yGWQJU32Uvfu9yiMH5LRO31somW6TDPbIdSDmsL_hfG-rPw7wcxf9XIOcqPZfmf6eAKMQtRLM"></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#0B5394">RBLA Design LLC</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p style="margin:0in"><a href="mailto:rebecca@rbladesign.com" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1155CC">rebecca@rbladesign.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p style="margin:0in"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/rbladesign.com/__;!!CPANwP4y!SiYO8S3peLP22EkkmaqdQsEO8cvSGxjcFpSTEpSsaqZCW3GbT_skTjROaBCNfwpqlBAVXuQ885_eoL-GGWfrizIMaNnN$" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1155CC">rbladesign.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#666666">Massachusetts <b>WBE </b>Certified</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
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<b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#666666">DBE </span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#666666">Certified in Massachusetts, Rhode Island & New Hampshire</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#0B5394">Member of
<b>CREW Boston</b></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Thu, Jul 4, 2024 at 7:51<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span>AM Harry LaCortiglia via MassPlanners <<a href="mailto:massplanners@masscptc.org">massplanners@masscptc.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">I would certainly hope that no government entity would infringe upon my right to grow the grass on my very own property, as tall as I need it to be, prior to my harvesting it for personal
use.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">I cultivate my grass to a certain length to be as effective as possible in my garden bed as my primary mulch, thus preventing evaporation as much as possible. (So many communities are under
to water conservation restrictions these days!) </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Although I guess I could bring my home grown vegetables to the ZBA Hearing when I ask for relief of any grass height zoning limitation. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Does anyone have a Grass Height Setback Variance application I could use?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Have a great day celebrating the Independence of our nation and our inalienable right to sarcasm!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">H. LaCortiglia</span><br>
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Georgetown P.B.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On 7/3/2024 3:40 PM, Jeff Lacy via MassPlanners wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Are we talking about private property? A homeowner’s little patch of the earth? I can’t see any legitimate role for government here, especially if the only complaint is appearance.
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<p class="MsoNormal">Jeff Lacy <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Rural Planning Associates <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">(413) 230-9693<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Sent from my iPhone<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">On Jul 3, 2024, at 3:18<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span>PM, Nate Card via MassPlanners
<a href="mailto:massplanners@masscptc.org" target="_blank"><massplanners@masscptc.org></a> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I don't know what it would look like, nor of any precedents (as far as regulations go) but I suspect you could establish an approved ratio of mowed to un-mowed lawn, essentially requiring some degree of cues-to-care, like mowed borders
or pathways. Or perhaps waivers to the current regulations could be issued for households submitting a plan for some level of lawn conversion, to promote long-term pollinator support.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#222222">Nathanael Card </span></b><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#222222">M.S. Ecological Design, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#222222">The Conway School, Northampton, MA<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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