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

• Tips for environmentally-safe agriculture
• Integrated pest management
• Farm*A*Syst: Help to prevent pollution on farms using confidential environmental assessments.
• Help for farmers: Natural Resources Conservation Service Greenfield office
• 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
• 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
• Greenfield Farmers' 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

• 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

• Get Involved! One way you can help keep open space right now is to donate funds to CROW (Center for the Rehabilitation Of Wildlife) so they can buy 73 acres in Hawley for a permanent clinic for orphaned and injured birds and other wildlife. The land they want to buy includes diverse habitats, surrounded by large areas of undeveloped lands.

  The property has almost a half mile of road frontage and could have been divided into ten or more building lots. After the transfer of ownership is complete, the development rights will be donated to the Franklin Land Trust in order to ensure that the land is never turned into a subdivision. Make checks out to the Franklin Land Trust (for CROW) and send to PO Box 216, Ashfield, MA 01330.

• Don't let you 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
• Examples of By-Laws site where you can search for and find examples for environmental protection
• Environmental Legislation Filed for 2003 Session
• Stay in touch with our legislators to let them know the health of the Deerfield River watershed is very important to you:
  Senator Stan Rosenberg
  Representative Steve Kulik
  Representative John Merrigan
  Representative Shaun Kelly

• 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

Updated 1/2/03 DRWA Home