By Save Lincoln Wildlife

Save Lincoln Wildlife, a town group focused on raising awareness about anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) and encouraging safer alternatives, has submitted a citizens’ petition to ban ARs in Lincoln. If successful at Town Meeting on March 28, the Select Board will send a home rule petition to the state legislature, since the state rather than individual towns regulate pesticides.

Highly toxic ARs poison rodents as well as children and non-target animals, such as birds of prey, wild mammals, and pets. These poisons enter ecosystems when poisoned rodents or contaminated carcasses are eaten by predators, or by accidental ingestion. Although Lincoln’s municipal properties do not use ARs, businesses and private property owners in Lincoln might be using them without realizing it. 

Here is the wording for the Town Meeting warrant article:

Citizens’ Petition to Ban Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Lincoln, MA

To determine whether the town will authorize the Select Board to petition the General Court for special legislation substantially in the form below:

That notwithstanding Chapter 132B of the general laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the Town of Lincoln may by ordinance prohibit the application of anticoagulant rodenticides within the Town of Lincoln, including application of such pesticides by licensed commercial applicators as defined in C.M.R. 333 10.00 except as allowed by the Board of Health to remediate a public health condition; this act shall take effect upon its passage.

Since 2024, Save Lincoln Wildlife has advanced safer alternatives to ARs through several initiatives:

• Meeting with Lincoln businesses to discuss rodent control alternatives to ARs.
• Partnering with Lincoln’s Board of Health to inform town residents about safer alternatives to ARs.
• Co-hosting a MetroWest Rescue Raptor event with attendees from multiple towns.
• Engaging with legislators at the July 2025 Protect Animals from Rodenticides lobbying day.
• Tabling at local venues including Town Meeting, State of the Town, and the transfer station.
• Surveying bait box locations on various properties townwide.

Stay tuned for upcoming outreach events to learn more about this petition and how you can switch to safe and effective rodent control methods.

You can learn more at:

• Save Lincoln Wildlife savelincolnwildlife.org
• Facebook at “Save Lincoln Wildlife”
• Mass Audubon’s Rescue Raptors

This article was written by Pam Boardman, Deanna Johnson, Staci Montori, Trish O’Hagan, and Carrie Stamos.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnians. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

By the Lincoln Green Energy Committee

1. Eversource heat pump rate

CFREE wants to let residents know about the lower electric rates for heat pump owners. Most recent heat-pump converts may already be signed up but if you have an older system you should make sure you are on this electric rate. Please check your bills to make sure you are!

Households with one or more heat pumps are eligible for a heat pump rate from Eversource, who estimates that it can save you close to 20% on your electricity bill. (Heat pump water heaters by themselves do not qualify.) We announced this back in November, but if you missed that and haven’t signed up (or been signed up automatically) it’s very easy to do so. Just click here. 

If you’re not sure if you’re getting this rate, look at the section of your Eversource bill where the delivery costs are shown. Look for “R1HP-Residential Heat Pump” shown on the attached excerpt from a sample bill. If you have a heat pump but your current rate is R1 or R3, you should ask to be changed to the R1HP-Residential Heat Pump rate, which is lower than either. Click here for illustrations. 

2. Bill relief for winter electric use

And in case you missed the January 23 email from Eversource, there’s a two-month rate reduction ahead, regardless of whether or not you have heat pumps. Note that the relief described will not cover bills for our very cold January. Here’s what they wrote:

We understand that managing higher electric bills alongside other rising expenses has been challenging. As part of ongoing efforts to reduce energy costs, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is providing $180 million in funding to help reduce your electric bills this winter. For your electricity use from Feb. 1, 2026, to March 31, 2026, the rate you pay will be reduced by 25%. Working collaboratively with our regulator and other utilities in Massachusetts, we have adjusted rates down in recognition of the sustained cold weather that has caused electric bills to be higher than this time last year, putting strain on household budgets.

Your total bill savings will be dependent on your energy use. If approved, this 25% reduction will be applied automatically, and you do not need to take any action. This 25% reduction will be reflected under the “current charges for electricity” section of your bill. Although the 25% is not its own line item, we reduced certain rate components to achieve this reduction.

CFREE (Carbon Free Residential — Everything Electric) is a subcommittee of the Lincoln Green Energy Committee. For previous CFREE Tips, click here. CFREE provides guidance on how households can reduce use of fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse gas emissions to help Massachusetts meet statewide emissions limits set for 2030, 2040, and 2050. It also provides information about state and federal incentives that help reduce the cost of such changes. For guidance on such projects at your home, email lincolngreencoach@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.lincolngreenenergy.org.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnians. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.