NDOT Roadside Vegetation Establishment and Management This document supersedes previous versions of this document and NDOT’s Chemical Usage Guidelines, Seeding Handbook and Mowing Guidelines. 2021 Table of Contents Page No. Document Development .................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Roadside Stabilization Practices .................................................................................................. 7 Protected Plant Species and Sensitive Resources in the Right of Way ................. 9 Seeding ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 Appendix: Suggested Seed Mixtures for Nebraska Roadsides ......................... 23-33 Installing and Maintaining Sod ....................................................................................................... 35 Planting and Maintaining Trees ..................................................................................................... 37 Managing Roadside Vegetation .................................................................................................... 41 Part 1 – NDOT Protocol for Integrated Vegetation Management ...................... 41 Part 2 – Compliance with the Pesticide Use General Permit ............................... 44 Part 3 – Chemical Control of Weeds .................................................................................. 116 Part 4 – Mowing ............................................................................................................................. 136 Part 5 – Removing Unwanted Trees, Brush and Stumps ...................................... 150 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................ 155 Pesticide Application Report ........................................................................................... 156 Notice of Intent Form (NPDES Pesticide use General Permit) ................... 157 Pesticide Products Used (Supplement to Pesticide General Permit Notice of Intent) .............................................................................. 159 Contact Information for NDOT Pesticide Application Records .................... 162 Memorandum of Understanding (1997) NDOR and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission ................................................................................................. 163 NDOT Roadside Facilities ................................................................................................................ 165 Hay Harvesting Permit Program ................................................................................................... 166 This document supersedes previous versions of this document and NDOT’s Chemical Usage Guidelines, Seeding Handbook and Mowing Guidelines. Document Development This document replaces several of the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s (NDOT) handbooks, guidebooks, and other documents pertaining to roadside vegetation. During development, we reviewed several documents prepared by other state departments of transportation, federal agencies, and other entities. The contents of this document were gathered from the following websites and agency publications, in addition to NDOT’s own: Executive Order 13112 Invasive species. February 3, 1999. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/020399em.htm Executive Order 13751 Invasive species. December 5, 2016. https://www.doi.gov/invasivespecies/executive-order-13751 Minnesota Department of Transportation. Website accessed January 2021. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadsides/vegetation/integrated.html National Cooperative Highway Research Program. 2007. Guidelines for vegetation management. 43 pages. The White House. 2014. Presidential memorandum – Creating a Federal strategy to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators. Office of the Press Secretary. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/20/presidential-memorandum- creating-federal-strategy-promote-health-honey-b. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Tree owner’s manual for the northeastern and Midwestern United States. 40 pages. https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/19712 University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension. 2015. Guide for weed, disease, and insect management in Nebraska. 350+ pages. https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/ec130.pdf Washington State Department of Transportation. Website accessed January 2021. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Maintenance/Roadside/mgmt_plans.htm - 1 - - 2 - Introduction The Nebraska Department of Transportation’s mission is supported by several goals, including a commitment to environmental stewardship. The methods used to construct NDOT projects, the post-construction conditions, and the maintenance of the roadside all contribute to fulfilling this commitment. Establishing desirable vegetation and managing roadsides to promote its success, as well as removing undesirable plants, all help to keep NDOT in compliance with environmental commitments. NDOT’s Roadside Development and Compliance Unit (RDCU) focuses on these activities and is comprised of these staff members: Ron Poe Program oversight, specifications, stormwater compliance Brian D. Anderson Erosion control design; landscape design Blayne Renner Permitting, construction environmental compliance Tony Ringenberg Borrow pit and construction environmental compliance Gabe Robertson Municipal and post-construction stormwater, MS4 lead, database tracking Shane Sisel Maintenance/Operations environmental compliance Nick Soper Erosion control design, landscape design Carol Wienhold Seed mixtures, re-vegetation evaluation and research The plants that grow along Nebraska’s roadsides may occur naturally, may have been intentionally planted, or may have been carried there by wind, water, wildlife, or a passing vehicle. Roadside vegetation performs functions that benefit people and their environment. In part, those benefits include: • Safety Low-growing vegetation on highway shoulders maintains sight distances free of physical obstructions and visibility problems. Hazard-free zones for errant vehicles are vegetated by grasses and other appropriate vegetation. Roadside vegetation also can reduce the effects of blowing and drifting snow on highways. • Economic Presence of grasses is especially effective in minimizing erosion around culvert pipes and other highway facilities and structures. Correctly maintained vegetation extends the life of and protects highway features (e.g., culvert pipes, box culverts, and field driveways) by reducing costly erosion events on roadsides. In addition, the appearance of roadsides is a significant part of a visitor’s experience. Tourists that have a good traveling experience are more likely to return, thus aiding local economies. • Erosion Control Vegetation is the most effective and efficient form of erosion control. When effectively established and maintained, vegetation can protect shoulders, ditches and slopes by reducing erosion and increasing general stability. • Environmental Water quality is improved by vegetation’s abilities in trapping sediment and increasing water infiltration. Roadside corridors constitute a - 3 - significant area of land, offering production of oxygen and a trap for carbon dioxide. Roadsides offer forage and habitat for pollinating organisms, which are crucial to sustainability of human food production and environmental health. In addition, a good stand of roadside vegetation doesn’t leave spaces for noxious or invasive weeds to thrive. • Aesthetic Healthy vegetation appropriate for the area gives an attractive appearance to the roadway. Use of native grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees aid the permanence of the look. The traveling public gauges what they’re getting for their money in part by what they see in the roadside. NDOT’s roadside seed mixtures are composed primarily of native plant species and are based on information in NDOT’s “Plan for the Roadside Environment.” NDOT favors the use of native species because of the deep root systems (benefits include anchorage, soil erosion prevention, and drought tolerance) that are characteristic of native species. A native species planting is a more self-sustaining and stable community, and is beneficial to pollinating organisms. These plant species are adapted to the area’s climate and physical conditions, and so are more likely to succeed over the long term. However, fortifying the seed mixtures for highway shoulders and other erodible areas with perennial ryegrass and/or Kentucky fescue affords certainty that if native species don’t provide cover quickly enough, then the introduced species will fill the ecological opening and hold the soil during initial stabilization. A regulatory team of Nebraska state agencies and federal agencies, together with NDOT, have set a general conservation condition to guide the species composition of NDOT’s seed mixtures. Roadside re-vegetation (after construction or as a maintenance action) requires reliable, rapid establishment of plant cover, not only for roadside aesthetics, but also to stabilize disturbed soils and to minimize maintenance requirements. Roadside soils typically are nutrient-poor and compacted, posing an inhospitable