Roadside habitat important

[Lee Borgersen]

              DNR NEWS - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Roadsides are important habitat for pollinators and pheasants

Delaying roadside mowing until Aug. 1 benefits pheasants, songbirds, pollinators and more, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

"With a growing concern for pollinators, we all need to do our part to protect wildflower habitat," said Carmelita Nelson, DNR prairie grassland coordinator. "That's why we urge owners of land along Minnesota roads and highways to avoid mowing or otherwise disturbing the roadside vegetation until after Aug. 1 or even until the fall to provide flowers for bees and nesting cover for birds."

Roadsides with native wildflowers are especially beneficial to native bees. Research has shown that the width of the roadside and the proximity to traffic does not matter to bees. Minnesota bee keepers place a high value on roadside wildflowers. The loss of habitat is one of the critical causes of the decline of both wild bees and honeybees.

Roadsides also provide more than 500,000 acres of nesting areas in the pheasant range of southern and western Minnesota. Roadside habitat is especially important in intensively row cropped regions where there is little other grassland available.

"After a difficult winter and wet spring, we are concerned about pheasant nesting this year," said Scott Roemhildt, DNR information officer. "In spite of the weather, pheasant nesting is pretty much on a typical schedule."

Most pheasant hens are currently sitting on nests and will hatch their broods in mid- to late June. A nesting hen lays eggs at a rate of about one per day. Nests contain an average of 12 eggs. The incubation period is 23 days and starts after all eggs have been laid. The hen remains on the nest, leaving only briefly to feed. If the nest is destroyed, the hen will repeatedly nest until she is successful in hatching a clutch, although re-nesting clutches have fewer eggs. 

The peak hatch time for pheasants (about 60 percent) is the third week in June, but depending on the weather there are still a lot of birds nesting in early July. Hens will make from one to four attempts at nesting during the spring nesting season, but will only hatch one brood per year.

Chicks need to be at least two to three weeks old to have any chance of escape from mowers. By Aug. 1 the reproductive season is over for most pheasant with the exception of a few late re-nesting attempts.

In Minnesota, between one-fourth and one-third of pheasants are hatched in roadsides. Roadsides are also important habitat to teal, mallards, gray partridge, many grassland songbirds, frogs and turtles. 

The way roadsides are managed can influence the abundance of local wildlife populations. Roadsides should also be protected from burning, crop tillage, grazing, blanket spraying of herbicides and vehicle encroachment during these months. At sites where noxious weeds are a problem, it is recommended that landowners use spot mowing or spraying for treatment.

[The General]

The farmer along my stretch of road has already cut and bailed once and will do it another 2 or 3 times.  Yet I can't ride my wheeler in the road ditch for the reasons posted above.   

[Lee Borgersen]

The farmer along my stretch of road has already cut and bailed once and will do it another 2 or 3 times.  Yet I can't ride my wheeler in the road ditch for the reasons posted above.   

Not trying to be a smart but what In your opinion would be the proper solution in this situation. Or, would this just be a dead issue.

[The General]

I don't mind riding on the road instead of the ditch any way.  Just saying it seems pretty stupid to have a law where a guy can't make 2 tire tracks in the bottom of the ditch but a farmer can cut the entire ditch. 

[dew2]

I don't mind riding on the road instead of the ditch any way.  Just saying it seems pretty stupid to have a law where a guy can't make 2 tire tracks in the bottom of the ditch but a farmer can cut the entire ditch.

Yep that has me baffled also.Isn't there a law that states something about they can be mowed after a certain date in August?? I know I read that somewhere out here.Don't make much difference I see them mowed, raked and baled long before Aug. and a few times at that! Like the ditch setbacks that by law are to be minimum of 1 rod or 16ft of natural grasses on each side of the ditch, tiny area but 80% of the ditches in Kandiyohi county are noncomply 80% and nothing is done about it!!! Course most county commissioners out here are or were farmers.

[The General]

I know this doesn't reflect all farmers but I was doing a quick search to see if I could find the exact setbacks and came across this.

"I just cut mine today. Hope to bale it Thursday.

County & township roads are no problem. The tree huggers 'encourage' you to wait until after bird nesting. However, what bird is going to nest in the dirty noisy road ditches when we have so many wetlands/ prairie areas....."

[dew2]

Soon once again the WMAs and WPAs will be mowed in the name of help for some livestock raisers somewhere.We,ve lost so much land to the plow and drainage might as well open it all.Let the southern guys get the ducks that have no feed producing waters and basically left this area for some of the last pothole areas left.Heck with the pheasants their almost dwindled away anyway,Song birds who needs them?? Bees?? someday the farmers will be rigth alongside the treehuuggers to pollinate their crops when the bees are gone they can hire mexicans!! to run around the fields with feathers strapped to their ashes