TRB Webinar: The Economic and Ecological Effects of Roadside Mowing

TRB conducted a webinar on Tuesday, December 8, 2015, from 2:00-3:30 PM ET that explored the range of impacts from roadside mowing, with a focus on the reasons and consequences of mowing beyond the first pass along the pavement edge. The webinar highlighted the benefit/cost tradeoffs between the traditional historic approach of widespread routine roadside mowing, and the use of Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM). The webinar touched on several points of ecological consideration currently being questioned in relation to roadside management, including pollinator impacts and potential benefits, and carbon balance between mowing equipment emissions and quantities sequestered by mowed vs. naturally self-sustaining plant communities.

This webinar was organized by the TRB Standing Committee on Roadside Operations, with support from the TRB Standing Committees on Maintenance Equipment, Landscape and Environmental Design, Transportation Sustainability, and Ecology and Transportation.

Participants must register in advance of the webinar, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor or non-TRB Sustaining Affiliate employees. A certificate for 1.5 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) was provided to attendees who register and attend the webinar as an individual.

Here are the slides from the presentation.




Webinar Presenters

• Bonnie Harper-Lore, Restoration Ecologist (Retired)
• Jeff Caster, Florida Department of Transportation
• Jeffrey Norcini, Oceo Hort LLC
• Scott Lucas, Ohio Department of Transportation

Moderated by: Ray Willard, Washington State Department of Transportation


Webinar Outline

1. Overview
2. Vegetation Management: An Ecoregional Approach (USDOT/FHWA Publication, 2013)
3. Florida DOT studies
• Changing mowing frequencies and mowing limits to provide increased ecological values, lower maintenance costs and continue to protect roadside safety
4. Ohio DOT research on mowing practice in relation to labor, equipment and materials
5. Question and answer session

Learning Objectives
At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• List reasons for a shift between the practice of routine roadside mowing and the future direction of managing roadside as naturally evolving ecosystems
• Understand what is needed for better metrics with regard to carbon balance between mowing emissions and roadside sequestration of mowed vs. natural roadside vegetation
• List impacts of roadside vegetation maintenance practices on ecological endpoints such as pollinators and wildlife, as well as water and air quality
• Compare and contrast the equipment and material needs associated with routine mowing vs. mowing used only occasionally as part of a managed succession IRVM program
• Understand how mowing can be targeted to achieve traditional and emerging concerns about the roadside

Registration Information
There is no fee for employees of TRB Sponsors or TRB Sustaining Affiliates who register using their work email address. In addition to employees of TRB sponsor organizations, the following are eligible to receive complimentary webinar registration:

• TRB and National Academies employees;
• Chairs of TRB standing committees, sections, or groups;
• CRP panel members who were involved with developing the report or project that is the subject of the webinar;
• Members of the media;
• Employees of tribal governments; and
• Members of Congress or their staff.

Other sites must pay $89 per site. View our pricing page for details.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.


Professional Development Hour Information
A certificate for 1.5 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) will be provided to Professional Engineers (PEs) who register and attend the webinar as an individual. For groups, only the person that registers and attends the session will receive a PDH certificate.

Individuals registered as Florida PEs are no longer required to email TRB with your license number to report your attendance. Instead, please use your certificate that TRB provides through RCEP.net as verification of your attendance to the Florida Board of Professional Engineers.

Please check with your licensing board to ensure that TRB webinar PDHs are approved by your board.

This webinar was developed in October 2014. TRB has met the standards and requirements of the Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP). Credit earned on completion of this program will be reported to RCEP by TRB. Certificates of Completion will be issued to individuals who register for and attend the entire webinar session. Complaints about registered providers may be sent to RCEP, 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005. Website: www.RCEP.net.

Registration questions? Contact Reggie Gillum at RGillum@nas.edu.