4. ESTABLISH A ‘NO MOW’ AREA OR PLANT A NATIVE GARDEN

The easiest and least expensive way to filter water runoff is to leave your shoreline natural and/or establish what is called a ‘no mow’ area between your land and the water.  As such, do not mow to the edge of where your property meets the lake but leave an area that is natural.  The Wisconsin DNR recommends leaving a minimum 10’ foot buffer between your lawn and lake, but if the minimum 10’ is not possible, try to start with several feet of no mow area.   Or, if you like color, plant a garden full of beautiful native wildflowers. This section of land helps to act as a natural buffer, catching and filtering water runoff that wasn’t captured upland near your house. We’ll update the TLA website with a listing of native wildflowers and a guide to help you plant.  

Given how easy it is to implement this filtration practice, we are asking all Tomahawk Lake property owners to leave at least a section of their shoreline natural, either with a several foot no mow area or native garden. 

Watch what Sebastian the Goose has to say and why he encourages having a natural shoreline.

Other resources:

Note: per action step #1 above, establishing a no mow area or planting a native garden counts as one of the two diversion and infiltration practices we are asking Tomahawk Lake property owners to implement.