Coming soon: More Bees and Butterfly populations alongside our roads

Excerpts from blog post by Daniel Raichel

Nestled inside the 2,000+ pages of the $1T bipartisan infrastructure bill President Biden signed into law

last week are two programs that will boost bee and butterfly populations across all 50 states.

The first is a five-year program that will provide $10M in grants to benefit pollinators on roadsides and

highway rights-of-way, whose language comes from Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman Jimmy

Panetta’s Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act. Eligible projects include the planting of native

plants—which provide pollen and nectar to wild pollinators—as well as the costs of switching to pollinator

friendly practices, such as reducing mowing, especially during key points in the monarch butterfly

migration.

Bigger still is the $250M that will be distributed to states over the next five years for invasive plant removal

along roads, highways, railroads, and other transportation routes. While not primarily pollinator-focused,

the program prioritizes projects that will revegetate areas with pollinator-friendly native species when

invasive plants are ripped out. It also provides a greater share of federal funds for these bee-boosting

projects.

Along with toxic pesticides, habitat loss due to sprawl and invasive species is one of the primary drivers of

catastrophic pollinator losses. For migratory species, like monarch butterflies, the news is especially good

because distribution of habitat projects across our country’s expansive transportation network makes it

more likely they’ll find a suitable place to sleep and eat on their long-haul trips.

Studies show that, while a little more expensive up front, pollinator-friendly management of roadsides with

native plants and simple changes in mowing actually save state departments of transportation big bucks

in maintenance costs over the long term. That federal funds can go toward training and education on

these practices will ensure those dollars go even further.

Off the road benefits will also be felt. Native plants outperform sterile (and often chemically treated) turf

roadsides at storing carbon. And with any luck, farmers may see a boost too. Recent research shows that

many crops—such as apples, blueberries, and cherries—have lower yields because of the lack of bees

and other pollinating species. Often, diminished harvests stem from a lack of the wild bees, driven from

farm fields by disappearing habitat and the rise of toxic chemicals like neonicotinoids. Providing safe

havens for these small, but mighty, helpers spread throughout America’s farmlands may improve farmer’s

fortunes too.