New Handbook Helps States Reduce Vegetation Management Costs and Encourage Native Growth

Roadside vegetation management has long been synonymous with mowing and applying pesticides to plants in the right-of-way. Highway managers, in an attempt to increase road safety by improving sight-lines, have used these tactics since the early days of highway construction. However, this approach is no longer sustainable in many cases due to a number of contributing factors, including rising fuel prices, frequent budget cuts, concerns over pesticide use and carbon emissions, and a growing awareness of the impact of invasive species.

To address this change, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty has recently released a comprehensive handbook on vegetation management, the third and final installment in a guidebook series on managing roadside ecology that has been earning praise from transportation officials around the United States. Vegetation Management: An Ecoregional Approach was designed as a quick-start guide for maintenance staff from State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), as well as landscape, environmental services, and erosion control personnel. State DOTs have received copies of the guidebook and an e-book version will be available on the website in 2015.

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