EESI Supports Effort to Restore Habitat for Pollinators along Nation’s Highways

On the occasion of National Pollinator Week (June 20), EESI has joined with dozens of national, state, and local organizations in a letter of support for legislation directing the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to practice integrated vegetation management along the nation’s highways. The DOT would work under existing authorities with state departments of transportation and other managers of highway rights of way. The lead co-sponsors of the bipartisan Highways Bettering the Economy and Environment Act (“Highways BEE Act”), which will be introduced July 23, are Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Timothy Johnson (R-IL).

Up to 17 million acres of land are in highway rights of way. Reducing mowing and planting native forbs and grasses will reduce highway maintenance costs while restoring vital habitat for pollinators, other insects, and bird species that are under acute pressure from habitat loss due to human economic development. With integrated vegetation management, highways can serve as corridors not only for human traffic, but also for plant, insect, avian and small mammal migration – essential for helping species adapt to the effects of climate change . Reducing the use of fossil fuels for mowing and increasing carbon sequestration in soils and native plants also will help mitigate climate change. Restoring habitat for pollinators, which have been in rapid decline across the country, is key to sustaining and increasing agricultural productivity across the country – which we will need as our population grows and the climate changes.

For more information, visit the Pollinator Partnership .