[Pollinator] NEW GUIDELINES -- Best Management Practices for Management of Roadside Vegetation for Pollinators

[Matthew Shepherd]

Hi everyone,



The Federal Highway Administration has just released new guidelines for
managing roadside vegetation for pollinators. *Roadside Best Management
Practices that Benefit Pollinators: Handbook for Supporting Pollinators
through Roadside Maintenance and Landscape Design* is available on the FHWA
website, either to read on the site or download as a PDF.



https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecosystems/Pollinators_Roadsides/BMPs_pollinators_landscapes.asp



The document was written by staff of ICF International and the Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation, under contract with the Federal
Highway Administration.



The best management practices provide concrete steps that can be taken by
any roadside management agency to improve roadside vegetation for
pollinators. The BMPs cover management of existing habitat, including ways
to modify the use of mowing and herbicides to enhance roadsides, and
methods to incorporate native plants and pollinator habitat into the design
of new roadsides.



These BMPs are the third document produced by these two organizations for
the FHWA. The other reports—comprehensive literature reviews of
peer-reviewed and technical material, and guidance for policy makers—are
also available from the FHWA website.



With an estimated 17 million acres of roadsides in the care of state
transportation agencies in the United States, managing roadsides is a
significant conservation opportunity for pollinators. Roadsides form an
extensive network of habitats that crisscross our landscapes. In many
areas, particularly urban and intensely farmed regions, roadsides may
provide the only natural or semi-natural habitat.



The value of America’s roadsides for pollinators was underscored by
the *National
Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators*,
released by the White House in 2015. In outlining ways to address the
decline of pollinators across the United States, the strategy included a
specific directive to improve habitat on roadside rights-of-way. Since
then, the FHWA has taken great strides to guide efforts to protect
pollinators and their habitats on roadsides. The Xerces Society and ICF
International are proud to support these efforts.



Matthew





­----------



Matthew Shepherd

Communications Director



[image: Xerces-logo-CMYK-email_Outlook]



Protecting the Life That Sustains Us



Connect:    www.xerces.org      Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/xerces.society/>     Twitter
<https://twitter.com/xercessociety>     Instagram
<https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/?hl=en>     Blog
<http://www.xerces.org/blog/>     E-newsletter
<https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3>

628 NE Broadway, Suite 200,   Portland, OR 97232,   USA

Office: (503) 232-6639 x110

Cell: (503) 807-1577

matthew.shepherd at xerces.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/pollinator/attachments/20160819/c03c3fec/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3006 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/pollinator/attachments/20160819/c03c3fec/attachment.jpg>