Roadside Revegetation

POLLINATOR-SPECIFIC CASE STUDIES
Chapter 13 provides three case studies to highlight successful pollinator-friendly practices and
strategies in various roadside projects from multiple parts of the country. The case studies
included here are a subset of those found in Hopwood and others 2016.
13.1 I-35 CORRIDOR (AKA “THE MONARCH HIGHWAY”) CASE
STUDIES
In 2014, President Obama released a Presidential Memorandum that tasked federal agencies with
identifying strategies to promote the health of pollinators in order to reverse pollinator declines.
The 2015 “National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators” was
a direct outcome of the memorandum, and that strategy called for a multi-state partnership
called the “Monarch Highway” along the I-35 corridor. Running through Minnesota, Iowa,
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, the I-35 highway spans the central flyway monarch
butterflies take during their annual migration. The “Monarch Highway” effort hopes to serve
as a national model of cooperation to enhance pollinator habitat along transportation rightsof-way.
The six states involved in the strategy have agreed to coordinate efforts to establish
best practices and promote monarch butterfly and pollinator conservation.
The two following case studies highlight successful projects from Iowa, one of the six states
that comprise the I-35 corridor where agencies are focused on restoring habitat to support
the imperiled Monarch butterfly and other pollinators.
13.1.1 BRINGING PRAIRIE BACK TO IOWA: IOWA’S INTEGRATED ROADSIDE
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND LIVING ROADWAY TRUST FUND
Prairie once dominated Iowa’s landscape, covering
more than 85 percent of the state. With less
than 0.1 percent of virgin prairie remaining, and
more than 95 percent of Iowa’s original wetlands
destroyed, Iowa has the nation’s most altered
landscape. Prior to the mid-1980s, roadside
weed control in Iowa relied heavily on blanket
spraying, putting large amounts of herbicide
into the environment with undesirable consequences.
Recognizing Iowa’s lost heritage and
the need to protect groundwater and surface
waters, Iowa roadside managers began making
some changes. For example, they began using
native prairie grasses and wildflowers for erosion
control and reintroduced “a little wildness,”
according to Kirk Henderson, retired State IRVM
Specialist from the Native Roadside Vegetation
Center at the University of Northern Iowa.
In 1989, the Iowa legislature passed IRVM legislation
to promote an ecologically integrated
approach to roadside management while maintaining
a safe travel environment (Code of Iowa, Section 314). The legislation emphasized the
establishment and protection of native vegetation as well as judicious use of herbicides, mowing,
prescribed burning, and other management tools. Iowa is widely seen as a leader in IRVM, in
large part because of this legislation. The bill also established the Living Roadway Trust Fund,
an annual competitive grant program administered by the Iowa DOT that provides funding
for school, city, county, and state projects, as well as research projects involving IRVM. Iowa’s
road use tax, along with several other sources, funds the Living Roadway Trust Fund. Roadside
Photo: Advisory Committee
Roadside Revegetation: An Integrated Approach to Establishing Native Plants and Pollinator Habitat
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