JACKSON, Wyo. — The Jackson Hole Clean Water Coalition invites landscaping professionals and interested individuals to the annual Trout Friendly Landscaper Certification Workshop from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19. This year, the Coalition is expanding the Trout Friendly Program to Teton Valley, ID with the addition of Friends of the Teton River as a Coalition partner. Landscaping professionals in Jackson Hole, Teton Valley, and beyond are encouraged to attend. The online workshop is FREE, though registration is required.
Experts will present on Trout Friendly Lawn practices, including soil health, nutrient cycling, fertilizer and pesticide application, native plants, and more. Continuing education credits may be available. Not a landscaper? Encourage your landscaper or landscaper friends to attend the workshop. As a resident, you can also get your lawn Trout Friendly Certified (it’s free and only takes a minute).
The Jackson Hole Clean Water Coalition, a group of ten local nonprofits and agencies working together to improve water quality, launched the Trout Friendly Landscaper & Business Partner Certification Program in 2020 to help lawn care and landscaping professionals create and maintain quality lawns and gardens while also limiting impacts on water from fertilizer and pesticide runoff. In 2021, nineteen local landscaping and lawn care companies became certified Trout Friendly.
“The adoption of Trout Friendly practices not only benefits water quality, but also aquatic habitat, pollinators, native fish, wildlife, pets and humans. We are excited to see both residents and landscapers continue to share their interest in this growing program,” said David Lee, Water Resources Specialist for Teton Conservation District. “Anyone can be a steward of their local waterways by following these simple practices – we hope you’ll join us to protect water quality.”
A study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that residential landscaping is one of the major sources of nutrient pollution in the Fish Creek watershed. Other parts of Jackson Hole are seeing nutrient loading issues as well. “If we are going to successfully curb our impacts on water, each individual in the community will have to consider their own impact. In this day and age there is no reason the residents of Jackson Hole shouldn’t rally around clean drinking water and pollutant-free waterways,” says Jared Baecker, Executive Director of Snake River Fund. “The Jackson Hole Clean Water Coalition is here to guide these responsible conservation efforts and The Snake River Fund is proud to be involved in this collaborative community approach to addressing water quality issues.”
You can improve water quality by making these small changes to your landscaping practices:
1. Limit fertilization. Use slow-release or organic fertilizer only if needed, not to exceed two pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of a yard per year. Do not fertilize within 20 feet of water.
2. Be water-wise. Sprinkle your lawn with water at dawn or dusk every other day and don’t water while it’s raining. Raise your mower blade height to three to four inches so that less water and fertilizer are needed.
3. Plant natives and maintain streamside buffers. Maintain a five-foot buffer of unmanicured landscaping around water to act as a natural filter between lawns and water bodies.
4. Use herbicides and pesticides appropriately. Only apply herbicide for state and county-listed noxious weeds, using spot spraying or mechanical removal techniques where appropriate. Contact Teton County Weed & Pest District for invasive species management information.
About Jackson Hole Clean Water Coalition
The Jackson Hole Clean Water Coalition collaboratively initiates community-wide action to improve and protect Jackson Hole’s surface and groundwater quality. Partners of the Coalition include Teton Conservation District, Trout Unlimited, Jackson Hole Land Trust, Snake River Fund, Teton County Weed & Pest District, PAWS of Jackson Hole, Friends of the Teton River, Wyoming Nature Conservancy, Wyoming Ducks Unlimited, and Flat Creek Water Improvement District.
