Surveys to identify stands of high-quality native vegetation were initiated by the minnesota department of transportation on highwayand railroad rights-of-way in 1988. They were based on two earlier right-of-way surveys (in 1978 and 1980) that had identified 25 corridors supporting high- to relatively good-quality native prairie vegetation in minnesota. The recent surveys indicate that 30 to 50% of the corridors identified in 1978 and 1980 have been lost because of railway abandonment, reconveyance of land to adjacent landowners, andhighway reconstruction and maintenance activities. This finding is consistent with the overall dramatic decline of tallgrass prairie onrights-of-way throughout its range in minnesota and the rest of theupper midwest. In order to prevent further degradation of these valuable roadside prairie communities, minnesota's departments of natural resources and transportation initiated an innovative and cooperative roadside prairie preservation and management program. The program is based on a preservation and management strategy that had been in use on minnesota trunk highway 56 (th 56) since 1983, where high-quality prairie vegetation was identified by early survey work. Sincethat time, the th 56 right-of-way has been maintained using prescribed burning as the primary management tool, while at the same time mowing and herbicide use have been minimized. Management of th 56 to enhance the right-of way prairie there has been so successful that this corridor was designated as minnesota's first wildflower route onaugust 19, 1989. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1279, Hydrology and environmental design 1990.
Samenvatting