[PCA] 1997 Megatransect is suggesting a conversion from exotics to natives for roadsides?

[Craig Dremann]

Dear Wayne, Bonnie, and All,

Thanks for both of your emails.

I hope that the data in my notebooks of the 1997, 3,400 mile
Megatransect may be important for researchers in the future, to know the
locations of all the native grasses and of the weeds along the West’s
roadsides at a certain time. 

The data also indicates where the best natural areas still occured in
1997, so perhaps some of those areas could be protected for the future? 

I am hoping to publish the data and photos as a monograph if there is a
grant available.   Along with the mile-by-mile data, I have over 100
photos showing the ecological conditions at certain locations, that
could be revisited in any time in the future.

Why I call the roads of my Megatransect the "Federal Highways":

1.) Mainly, that's how "Federal highways"  are marked on the maps, as
"US" highways and "Interstates"--separate from the “State Routes” and
the “County Roads” ---but perhaps more importantly,

2.) The intentionally-sown exotics like Crested Wheatgrass, has the
damaging effect of permanently and completely suppressing the local
native grass ecosystems.  

The miles of those exotics, that I found within the various Federal
highway right-of-ways, I assume were sown during new construction or
widening projects.  It is my understanding that the costs of any seeds
for new construction or widening projects, are usually 100% borne by
FHWA?

I'm hoping that in the near future, the FHWA will end funding of any
exotic seeds for new construction or widening projects nationwide,
especially for projects along roadsides that pass through natural
ecosystems, and only fund the use of local native seeds for those areas. 

Fortunately, for federally-funded roads that travel through our National
Park system, the FHWA already does that, and that conversion from exotic
seeds-to-local-native-seeds may be starting for our National Forests,
when new construction or widening projects go through the Forests.  

When I was conducting my Megatransect in 1997, most of Yellowstone's
roads were being reconstructed with federal funds, and the FHWA funded
hand-collection of local native seeds from the park, to be sown along
the graded roadsides, so that the roadside vegetation would exactly
match the park’s, both in native species, and also with the local
genetics.

You can see a picture from Yosemite, where local native grass seeds were
harvested and successfully sown, funded by FHWA, for reconstruction of
one of that park’s roads in 2000, at
http://www.ecoseeds.com/yosemite.html

That's one of the exercises from a class for California DOT, “Native
Plants for Roadsides - Grade One - "Introduction to the Innovative Use
of Local Native Plants for Roadsides, Mitigation Sites and Managing
Public Lands."  You can see all the class exercises at
http://www.ecoseeds.com/workshop.html

Fortunately for the roadside native ecosystems of Iowa, the Iowa DOT
over a decade ago, made a commitment to sow local native grasses within
the Federal Highway right-of-ways, and the Delaware DOT has been
investigating that possibility also.

So perhaps the conversion from the sowing of horrible ecosystem-breaking
exotics along roadsides for FHWA-funded projects, to local native seeds,
could become a State-by-State process?   

Sincerely,  Craig Dremann, Redwood City, CA (650) 325-7333