<br><font size=2>You may be interested in the flurry of discussion about
pollinators, roads and corridors on the main PCA list. </font><font size=3> </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2>Here are a few of the last posts:</font><font size=3>
</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2>Some states are already pursuing Corridor for Wildlife
Programs. Of course, safety will always be a concern.</font><font size=3>
</font>
<br><font size=2>RESEARCH is needed on behalf of pollinators, nesting birds,
and small mammals that corridors can indeed accommodate.</font><font size=3>
</font>
<br><font size=2>The FHWA wants to do more research.....but we NEED YOUR
HELP.</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>Please note the attached one page that explains.</font><font size=3>
</font>
<br><font size=2>Please take the 4 easy steps to registering your concerns
and needs for research on corridor stewardship. Please remember</font><font size=3>
</font>
<br><font size=2>these corridors can be homes to endangered plant species
as well as natural community remnants when less mowing occurs.</font><font size=3>
</font>
<br><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>I thank you and my Natural Environment Team thanks you.
We NEED public input to get research funding. Good luck to
us all!!!</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>Bonnie</font>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br><font size=3><b>Bonnie L. Harper-Lore</b> </font>
<br><font size=2>Restoration Ecologist</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>Office of Environment, HEPN-30</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>Federal Highway Administration</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>360 Jackson Street, Ste. 500</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>St. Paul, MN 55101</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>651-291-6104</font><font size=3> </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2>Great dialogue on resource management and lack of along
roadways. Many on this list serve are aware of new, innovative vegetation
management practices and techniques, if not practicing them. For
a number of reasons, transportation corridor vegetation management programs
are designed without much consideration of ecological associations. The
impact on flora and faunal relationships within parallel or transected
wildlife travel corridors is often sacrificed in the name of “safety and
liability”. Defensible or not, perceived or real s safety and liability
issues trump natural resource protection/management practices in managed
landscapes. As Bonnie noted, 'trees and automobile collisions ' have
dominated planning and operations. (usually a bad thing when lawyers
and vegetation mix) </font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>This scenario seems to be slowly changing for the better.
The linear nature of highway systems has visibly exacerbated the
spread of many invasive plant species. Public acceptance of
the threat of invasives and links to transportation corridors, urban
land management, development is relatively recent. Loss of
biodiversity/habitat is a strong argument for control and management of
invasive plant communities. This developing consensus is significant
and should be aligned with the benefits of energy conservation to promote
applied landscape ecology in general. In this case, the design of
alternative, native species plant communities and innovative management
regimes for transportation right of ways can also control the spread of
invasives. I'm seeing encouraging signs from environmental and operations
managers in New York State DOT Regions 2 and 5 in collaborations with private
sector, universities and NGOs such as the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant
Program. FHA and some state DOTs have taken the lead in promotion
of (ecological) roadside vegetation management that addresses safety and
biodiversity. Implementation won't occur overnight nor will the liability
arguments be resolved any time soon. What "we" can do is
get more of this work on the ground in the form of d demonstration projects,
field trials, project briefs and good case studies. The next step
is to integrate the best into operational programs. I also believe
that most all transportation professionals want to do best they can with
the resources at their disposal. Biologists and ecologists need to
develop these new tools and help integrate them into the system. </font><font size=3>
</font>
<br><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=3>Paul R. Fuhrmann </font>
<br><font size=2><b>ecology and environment, inc.</b></font><font size=3>
</font>
<br><font size=2>368 Pleasantview Drive</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>Lancaster, New York 14086</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>Tel. 716 6848060 ext. 2876</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>Fax. 716 684 0844</font><font size=3> </font>
<br><font size=2>www.ene.com </font><font size=3> </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>This is fascinating, thank you for your interesting
story of highway mowing!</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>As environmental consultants, my husband and I have
worked on rare butterfly </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>and rare plant surveys, as well as surveys of the
highly invasive species, </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>cogongrass. We pay attention to what happens
on roadsides.</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>What I have observed is that in the southeastern US,
because of a reluctance </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>to use burn management in these states, most of the
natural areas are grown </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>up so much as to be virtually devoid of native grasses
and forbs. Areas </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>that have not been developed, put into agriculture,
silviculture, or </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>"improved" for grazing, are almost always
overgrown and unsuitable for an </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>enormous diversity of grasses and grassland species
that used to make the </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>Southeast one of the wealthiest areas in the country
for biodiversity.</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>Looking for grassland that would support the rare
Arogos Skipper, we found </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>almost nothing throughout the southeast, aside from
a few powerline cuts. </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>The exception was a few beautiful wetland areas that
are probably developed </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>now, or will be soon, because of the change in the
Corps of Engineer's </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>definition of what a wetland is a few years back.</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>In Georgia in particular, even the powerline cuts
were farmed, with legumes </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>and other exotics seeded in to attract deer for hunters.
Indeed, the </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>problem of attracting deer to roadsides may be a symptom
of the lack of open </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>habitat anywhere else. Along the southeastern
coastal plain, which was </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>historically basically a grassland/prairie ecosystem,
many species which </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>were formerly abundant are gone and disappearing.</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>We have found that roadside (and powerline) mowing
is very helpful for </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>biodiversity in that it creates grassland refugia
for many species. On the </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>other hand, habitat management to promote open native
grasslands would be </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>highly preferable to roadside mowing!</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>One of the primary means of spreading of Cogongrass,
an exotic invasive </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>which is a menace to biodiversity as well as an economic
menace to </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>silviculture and grazing, is roadside mowing. And
when roadsides are </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>scraped and planted with turf, the environmental damage
is compounded. Turf </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>can come with cogongrass, is inherently an exotic
species, and takes up the </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>space that our natives might otherwise thrive in.</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>The DOT policy of planting wildflowers is another
issue. In Florida </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>roadsides are often planted with non-native wildflowers,
which are pretty, </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>but also take the place of native species. It
is basically substituting a </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>wildflower farm for the natives that might otherwise
grow on roadsides. The </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>wildflowers may also tend to attract wildlife, which
is killed by cars. The </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>point about roadsides being a sink for wildlife is
a great question. It </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>seems that pollinators such as butterflies and native
bees and wasps, and </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>their predators, such as dragonflies and birds, and
grazers, such as rodents </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>and deer, and other wildlife favoring open land, including
armadillos, and </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>all of their predators, such as owls and hawks and
panthers, are all </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>attracted to open roadsides, where they are likely
to meet their death by </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>automobile.</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>It seems as though the millions of acres of roadside
land could be a great </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>resource for biodiversity, if designed and managed
properly. However, </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>management would have to be done in a wise and individualized
manner, </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>because a general prescription or policy for a large
region would not work </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>with the variety of habitats roads traverse. DOT
certainly has the </tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>financial resources, perhaps just not the collective
will, to do this.</tt></font>
<br>
<br><font size=2><tt>Maria Minno</tt></font>
<br><font size=2><tt>Gainesville, FL</tt></font><font size=3> </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2>Megan Haidet</font>
<br><font size=2>Communications Coordinator</font>
<br><font size=2>Plant Conservation Alliance </font>
<br><font size=2>US Fish & Wildlife Service</font>
<br><font size=2>4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 750</font>
<br><font size=2>Arlington, VA 22203</font>
<br><font size=2>Phone: 703.358.2120</font>
<br><font size=2>Fax: 703.358.2276</font>