LIVING WATERSHED WISE

	Want to do your part to keep our watershed beautiful and healthy?
		Here you will find tips on becoming a proud steward of the Deerfield River watershed

• MassWoods: information and options for when you want to sell your timber and to plan the future of your property
• The Franklin Land Trust helps farmers and other landowers put their land in preservation from development.
• Visit the Red Gate Farm, in Buckland, to learn about life on the farm and for their great environmental programs!
• Tips for environmentally-safe agriculture
• Integrated pest management
• Farm*A*Syst: Help to prevent pollution on farms using confidential environmental assessments.
• Help for farmers: Massachusetts Natural Resources Conservation Service Vermont Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Pest management: Early detection and treatment of pests means a healthier growing environment
• Farmland Protection Program: funds to purchase the development rights to farmland
• Model Bylaw for Agricultural Preservation District
• Nutrient Management Fact Sheets, such as Applying Fertilizers on Home Gardens or Nitrogen Fertilizer Choices
• Agricultural Best Management Practices: Lots of good information at this New England Region Water Quality Program site.

• Clean up without leaving your driveway
• Your car can be a point source

Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution from Boating

• Buy energy efficient products
• Clean Air Gardening environmentally friendly lawn and garden equipment
• Find a supplier of clean energy
• Local environment-safe products & services: link gone, looking for new one, send me your suggestions
• Retailers selling pesticide alternatives: lost the link, looking for another
• Green Fields Market or McCusker's Market (Shelburne Falls) or Brattleboro Co-op for fresh and organic produce
• Well testing

• Hazardous materials in your every-day life
• Dos and Don'ts around the House
• Home*A*Syst Help yourself to a healthy home
• H2ouse.org is a very user-friendly and interactive web page focused on the many ways homeowners can conserve water. It includes graphics and information helpful for understanding the issues for each water saving measure and for promoting action.

• The "How-to" of natural landscaping
• Backyard Buffers

• Attract wildlife to your property
• Make a home for birds, butterflies, and nature's other creatures
• Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program: technical assistance and cost-share assistance to voluntarily improve wildlife habitat or restore ecosystems on your land
• Start a Backyard Wildlife Habitat

• Join a Green Energy Coop (now!), which uses your dollars to support clean energy. More info at Co-Op Plus
• Don't let your pets pollute...
• Join DRWA and volunteer for our programs (water quality monitoring, river clean-ups, trail maintenance...).

• Local, state, and federal regulations homeowners, builders, etc. should know about
  (e.g. wetlands, septic system maintenance, siting of drinking wells, etc.)
• Model Ordinances to protect local resources
• News: Environmental Legislation Filed for 2003 Session
• Examples of By-Laws site where you can search for and find examples for environmental protection
• Stay in touch with our legislators to let them know the health of the Deerfield River watershed is very important to you:
  

  Massachusetts	Vermont
  Senator Stan Rosenberg	Senator Roderick Gander
  Representative Steve Kulik	Senator Jeanette White
  Representative Chris Donelan	Representative Pat O'Donnell
  Representative Shaun Kelly	Representative Robert Rusten

• Sustainable Turf Care a publication emphasizing soil management and ultural proactices that enhance turf growth and reduce pests and diseases by reducing turf stress. It also looks at mixed species and wildflower lawna as low maintenance alternatives to pure grass lawns.
• Clean up without leaving your yard (advice for Mississippi River that's good for us too)
• Green landscaping
• Eight simple steps to clean water
• Backyard conservation tips on mulching, pest management, water conservation and much more
• Don't be a polluter! Use fertilizers sparingly.
• Plant native seeds See the Eastern Native Seed Conservancy web site
• Organic lawn care for the cheap and easy
• Water conservation Save water with efficient systems and healthy plants.

Do you have suggestions or would like to contribute content to this page? Please contact drwa@deerfieldriver.org

Updated 5/21/06 by MF Walk DRWA HOME