By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review

For the third straight year, Wausau residents are encouraged to limit lawn mowing in May to provide resources and protection for bee pollinators in the spring.

The Wausau City Council on Tuesday approved the “No Mow May” initiative with no discussion. Now, residents can avoid a $98 fine if they choose not to mow their lawns during the month and allow their grasses to grow longer than city ordinance typically allows. A seven-day grace period will begin June 1, after which the mowing ordinance will once again be enforced.

The program aims to provide early-season forage for emerging native pollinators by reducing mowing intensity during a month in which foraging resources can be limited. Residents also are encouraged to limit chemicals that are applied to their yards to protect pollinators.

Similar initiatives are increasing in popularity statewide since 2020, when Appleton became the first city in the U.S. to adopt the plan. More than 400 households participated, and Appleton officials said the inaugural effort resulted in a 35% increase in floral resources, a five-fold increase in wild bee abundances and three-fold increase in wild bee diversity.

“A post-No Mow May survey revealed that the participants were keen to increase native floral resources in their yards, increase native bee nesting habitat, reduce mowing intensities, and limit herbicide, pesticide, and fertilizer applications to their lawns,” wrote Lawrence University Professor Israel Del Toro, in a peer-reviewed study released after the Appleton program’s conclusion in 2020. “The No Mow May initiative educated an engaged community on best practices to improve the conservation of urban pollinators in future years.”

But the program was not without its critics, including members of the Appleton City Council. Throughout the city, complaints about tall grass and weeds skyrocketed, according to the Appleton Post-Crescent. The newspaper reported that the initiative resulted in some bad blood between neighbors, including one who called the program “a ridiculous, moronic idea.“

In Wausau, too, some residents took to social media to complain about long grasses in their neighborhoods and how unkempt properties looked.. Some expressed concern about ticks, while others shared concerns that the idea would “put landscapers out of work.” One poster called the initiative a “harebrained lefty idea.”

But “No Mow May” continues to catch on, with studies backing up the philosophy behind it. In Britain, the program increased the number of bees in yards tenfold. Studies in the U.S. have found that lawn weeds, such as dandelions and clover, do indeed support a high diversity of bees and that reduced mowing can also result in higher bee abundance and diversity in yards.

Wausau residents are not required to register or place a sign in their yard to indicate participation.