Institute of the Environment

A primary responsibility of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is to maintain a highway right of way that is safe for the traveling public. Most often, this requires removal of trees, shrubs, and other fixed objects that may stand in the way of drivers leaving the highway. For many years, the department has fulfilled this responsibility by large scale clearing and mowing of a clear zone. Roadside management practices that maintain the right of way as parkland certainly make the road safe and visually pleasing, but provide little in the way of useful habitat for wildlife. The clear zone, occupying approximately 1 percent of the state’s land area, is a landscape that has much potential for providing nesting and foraging habitat for grassland bird species. Protection of the environment being another responsibility of the department, the NYSDOT needs to advance practices that promote wildlife use of habitats along the highway, while maintaining a safe and aesthetic roadside for the travelers.