[RWG] Roadside ecosystem refugia 1997 Megatransect?

[Craig Dremann]

Dear Wayne and All,

Thanks for your email.

Perhaps some time in the future, we will have a State-by-State website
that would map the good roadside examples of native ecosystems, where we
could stop and see while we are traveling through an area?  Like an
"Atlas to Pristine North American Ecosystems"!

Two years ago when I was working in North Carolina, I went to the border
of Virginia where there was a highway on the eastern edge of the Great
Dismal Swamp, and the NC DOT had every mile or so put pull-overs and
picnic benches at the edge of the water, so you could picnic or go
fishing.

California DOT starting doing something like that a few years ago, with
their Botanical Management Areas, that you can read about at 
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LandArch/CaliforniaWILD/bmapage.htm

The idea was to have areas marked with signs (like how the "Historic
Sites" are already marked along roads) place in areas that still had
good examples of the local native ecosystems along the roadside, and the
plan was to eventually build parking areas where you could pull off the
road, with a kiosk with an explanation of what you were looking at.

For any Federal land managers or Fed. highway people reading these
postings, perhaps the highlighting of good roadside ecosystems could be
made part of new Federal Highway construction or Federal Highway road
widening?  If you have to cut through a pristine ecosystem, part of the
mitigation could be to make the local native ecosystem more accessible
to the public?

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