Pollinator-Friendly Practices
- practices relating to mowing strategies that promote early successional vegetation and limit disturbance during periods of highest use by target pollinator species on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, such as—
- reducing the mowing swath outside of the State-designated safety zone;
- increasing the mowing height;
- reducing the mowing frequency;
- refraining from mowing monarch and other pollinator habitat during periods in which monarchs or other pollinators are present;
- use of a flushing bar and cutting at reduced speeds to reduce pollinator deaths due to mowing; or
- reducing raking along roadsides and highway rights-of-way;
- implementation of an integrated vegetation management plan that includes approaches such as mechanical tree and brush removal, targeted and judicious use of herbicides, and mowing, to address weed issues on roadsides and highway rights-of-way;
- planting or seeding of native, locally-appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including milkweed, on roadsides and highway rights-of-way to enhance pollinator habitat, including larval host plants;
- removing nonnative grasses from planting and seeding mixes, except for use as nurse or cover crops; or
- obtaining expert training or assistance on pollinator-friendly practices, including—
- native plant identification;
- establishment and management of locally-appropriate native plants that benefit pollinators;
- land management practices that benefit pollinators; and
- pollinator-focused integrated vegetation management.
Last updated: Monday, April 6, 2026