Road Ecology Center

Through a sampling of State highway maintenance practices, this paper explores how over 10 million acres of State highway rights-of-way can be converted to conservation acres. States plant and preserve native grasses and forbs, and hold back forest succession to create clear zones for the safety of highway users. This paper explains the clear zone’s importance to the traveling public’s safety and the evolution of policy towards the use of native plants, specifically grasslands, in clear zones. Incorporating grassland management to those rights-of-way, can result in additional conservation acres and safe travel.