Lucky, I suggest you read the post in full. Not sure where you think I was protesting anything. I used examples to give people some insight into things related to the lawn care industry. In fact, I even posted things I wish the industry would change.
That post is the building block of a good lawn. Kinda like the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water but not make him drink." Lime/gypsum are not fertilizer. You can apply them down to the waters edge and you can find NHDES documents even recommending soil amendment. Good soil helps mitigate issues with leaching and run-off.
I pretty much laid out how a homeowner should go about getting their soil chemistry corrected. Every lawn will benefit from proper soil amendment. It's very common to give people the recipe for a nice lawn and yet they dismiss it. So, so common. Ironic in that you proclaim you want to protect the lake but yet don't want to take the few minutes to read some information about soils. Nobody likes to be told they are part of the bigger picture (problem if you wish to call it that) but that's reality.
Having bare spots in your lawn is not good for the lake as that is where run-off occurs. Also, your lawn mowing frequency is influenced largely by soil temperature and moisture as much as it is by nutrient levels.
If you don't want to apply fertilizers makes no difference to me. However if you wish to improve your lawn and help the lake then good soil chemistry is best practices. What I take issue with is when people beat their chests like they are saints but yet unknowingly contribute to water quality issues. Where do you think your septic water goes and do you and all your lake front neighbors have perfect systems and religiously pump their tanks? Again, not trying to bash you but simply pointing out that it's easy to scapegoat everyone else.
Perhaps I can clear up some misundertandings.
Leaching is when nutrients percolate through the soil and eventually reach the ground water. The nutrients get held in the soil and used by the grass (and trees, and shrubs, and flowers) by chemical bonds. With properly amended soil using lime the nutrients are more easy held in the soil and used by the plant. Over fertilizing is where this is an issue, especially coupled with bad soil chemistry and the nutrients can be washed right passed the root system.
Run-off is when the water travels along the surface. This is mitigated by watering in fertilizer after application and not before large storms, not over applying, using slow release fertilizers (whole topic by itself), sweeping or blowing any fertilizer that gets on hard surfaces back into the lawn, and proper soil amendment.
I could have made my post even longer by citing many textbooks and peer reviewed University studies. Unfortunately the information I am trying to pass along does not come in a fast-food version...
Your post is not atypical of what people think they know about water quality issues and fertilizer. I can assure you I put my money where my mouth is and my entire yard is designed to hold any water and fertilizer onto my property.
This will be my last post regarding fertilizer or lawn care on Winni.com
Carry on.
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