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Virginia Turfgrass Managers:
| Thanks for your input and
time! Several VTC members took the
time to comment (and even to attend town hall
meetings) regarding the Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) proposed
nutrient management recommendations (detailed in
the bulletin below). The June 30 deadline for
comment period has now passed. Virginia Tech
faculty, VTC legislative committee members, and
VTC board members are now working cooperatively
with DCR personnel in the development of
nutrient management recommendations. One of the
challenges (but also strengths) our industry
presents is its diversity: variations in
grasses, soils, turf uses, climate,
budgets/manpower, etc. make it impossible to
easily develop nutrient management
recommendations that address all needs. The VTC
is excited about the role it expects to play in
the development of possible training programs
and testing criteria to expand the number of
nutrient management planners that can
specifically address the needs of urban
agriculture.
It is encouraging to see that Virginia’s
turfgrass industry clearly desires to play a
proactive (rather than reactive) role in
developing and implementing nutrient management
recommendations that promote environmental
stewardship. Further input from VTC members will
be solicited and we will keep everyone current
with the latest information. Again -- thanks to
those that took the time to have their views
expressed. |
You have an
opportunity to comment on regulations that affect YOU -
but hurry, your opportunity ends at the end of June.
Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation is
proposing amendments to the Nutrient Management Training
and Certification Requirements. The proposed amendments
specifically apply to turfgrass management (home lawns,
office parks, public lands, golf courses, athletic
fields, and others).
Comments are easily
given on DCR's web site
(actually the
site is a page of Commonwealth of Virginia's Regulatory
Town Hall dedicated to the DCR proposal)
You can
read through the recommendations and see that while they
generally promote sound agronomic principles, two points
affect you:
(1) Fairways are restricted to annual
nitrogen fertility levels of 1-3 lbs N/1000 sq
feet
(2) Roughs are restricted to annual nitrogen
fertility levels of 0-1lb N/1000 sq
feet
Please go to the DCR site and make your
comments - we only have until June 30th!
Here is the Step-by-Step process to initiate a new
account with the Town Hall (the whole process took me
less than 3 minutes).
Step One:
Go to
http://www.townhall.state.va.us/Forum/ListComments.cfm?Stage=3068
and
click on "enter" Comments
Step Two:
You will be
asked to either Log On To the Town Hall or else to Sign
Up as a New User. The rest of the steps below assume you
need to Sign Up as a New User
Step Three:
Once in the
Town Hall site, click on "Town Hall Services Sign Up
Page"
Step Four:
Enter Data
and click (items with a red asterisk are
required to be filled in)
Step Five:
You're taken
to a screen that asks if you want to receive periodic
updates. Choose what you want (or none) and click
Step Six:
You are taken
to "Town Hall Home"
On the left of the screen is a
series of options - select under "Regulatory
Changes"
Step Seven:
Scroll down
the screen that appears until you get to the DCR. Click
on
Step Eight:
Enter the
Comment
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