No Mow May is Back in Wausau

Thursday, April 27th, 2023 -- 8:04 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) No mow may is back for Wausau residents again after the City Council voted to suspend the lawn maintenance ordinance for the month of May, meaning, according to Mike Leischner with WSAU, there will be no lawn signs or registration required for those who want to let their grass go for the month in the name of pollinator habitat.

"We've had a lot of people who came in and asked 'are we going to do it again?' And so the answer, obviously now, yes, we are. If you want to, feel free to not mow your lawn and you will not get a city citation."

Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg says participation or non participation is completely voluntary, no questions asked. "Last year we made a couple of changes. We didn't require people to post signage and they didn't have to come in and report to us. So, similar to last year."

She says the movement isn't meant to be divisive or pit neighbors against each other. "I've heard from a couple of people whose neighbors didn't love it, but we're all in this together and we have disagreements on all kinds of things."

She says they're glad to work with those that are studying the idea and how it impacts pollinators. "Actually had somebody approach me and it was more about no mowing later in the year. So, we'll see. There's a lot of cities doing a a lot of innovative things when it comes to sustanibility and especially these pollinators."

No Mow May is a movement which began in the Fox Valley area several years ago and has since spread across Wisconsin with communities large and small taking up the torch.

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