Energy and Environment

Project Objectives

The New England Transportation Consortium funded research to move the capacity of native plant establishment along roadsides from 2013-2016. This work trialed seed mixes and methods for establishment and developed a manual with 39 key species for the region identified. Various protocols for site preparation, seeding, and post establishment monitoring and maintenance were also provided. Following this work, a series of next steps were identified as critical for effective implementation. The most important step was the development of local seed sources, which are currently absent in the region. The shift towards planting native plants along roadsides has multiple benefits including: natural defense for invasive plants, habitat for common and rare pollinator species, and the potential to reduce maintenance needs over time. Pollinators play an important role in this country’s agricultural system as well as in maintaining healthy natural ecosystems.

The problem at hand in the New England is the lack of a native seed mix to use in the roadside habitat that includes important species for pollinators. Also, we do not have a consolidated library of best management practices for roadside management to promote pollinators that apply directly to the climate and conditions in the New England.

This project will include two main efforts. First, it will investigate and develop a list of currently available resources for native seed and plant stock throughout the New England region to understand what is currently available. The study will focus on the list of plant species identified in the 2016 New England Transportation Consortium (NETC) study by the University of Connecticut, “Effective Establishment of Native Grasses on Roadsides in New England” (NETC, 2016), as they are known to suitable to the region and are valuable to pollinators throughout the entire growing season of New England. Once an understanding of what is/is not available, the study will look at ways to increase availability of seeds throughout New England. The study will use gathered information on seed stock to draft a plan for developing a native seed source or sources appropriate for use along New England roadsides. The project would also include proof of concept for developing capacity for local seed source and production for the region.

Technical Committee Members

• TC Chair: Arin Mills, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
• Adam Boone, Connecticut Department of Transportation
• Tara Mitchell, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
• Rebecca Martin, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
• Susan Votta, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
• Bonnie Donahue, Vermont Agency of Transportation

AC Liaison: Dee Nash, New Hampshire Department of Transportation

Project Coordinator: Kirsten Seeber, CTC & Associates

Implementation Activities

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island will develop, or consider developing, guidance for conversation mowing. Connecticut and Rhode Island will increase their mowing height. Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont will add, or consider adding, more native seeds to their seed mixes.

Project Objectives

The project objectives would be to develop a matrix of disturbance features (sound frequencies and volumes, canopy width, etc.) and an assessment of a barrier effect that would affect foraging and roosting behavior of Northern Long-Eared Bat colonies and other potential listed species.  There would be a screening tool and GIS model that would show zones of influence around highways that have noise and disturbance levels that would result in unlikely bat utilization in adjacent habitats.  The screening tool could be GIS-linked.  It would like with other geocoded information, and databases, and satellite imagery, that would be updated by future researchers if need be as more information is collected.

Technical Committee Members

• Chairperson Richard Bostwick, Maine Department of Transportation
• Amanda Saul, Connecticut Department of Transportation
• Glenn Gingras, Vermont Agency of Transportation
• Rebecca Martin, New Hampshire Bureau of Environment
• Timothy Dexter, Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Implementation Activities

MassDOT will use the project’s results to continue coordination with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, FHWA, and MassWildlife on developing appropriate methods to protect rare bats through our transportation activities. Two states feel further data collection and research would be helpful in using the models developed in this project.

Project Objectives

The main objective of the proposed research project is to develop a screening tool and to demonstrate its accuracy in determining the presence of NLEB roosting in New England bridges. Additional information will be collected and disseminated related to preferred structural types for bat roosting, New England bat population distributions and evaluation of existing public data already collected by State Fish and Wildlife Departments and Transportation Agencies throughout New England.

Technical Committee Members

• Richard Bostwick (Chairperson), Maine Department of Transportation
• Timothy Dexter, Massachusetts Highway Department
• Melilotus Dube, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
• Glenn Gingras, Vermont Agency of Transportation
• Emilie Holland, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
• Amanda M. Saul, Connecticut Department of Transportation

Project Objectives

To build a comprehensive knowledgebase for a gradual transition toward sustainable native roadside vegetation cover which will support transportation goals for safety and infrastructure reinforcement while providing economic, ecological and aesthetic advantages. The direct deliverables to the New England Departments of Transportation include the Manual with guidelines for the effective establishment of native grasses on roadsides in New England and a model for an accelerated adoption and commercialization of this novel ecological restoration approach.

Progress/Accomplishments Through March 31, 2015

• Two investigators – Kuzovkina and Dreyer – attended the Ecological Landscape Symposium: New Directions in the American Landscape on January 9-10, 2014 at the Connecticut College Arboretum to gather relevant information for the Manual and to meet the practitioners in the field of ecological restoration. Kuzovkina and Schulthess conducted the candidate search and interviewing through the American Society for Horticultural Sciences for the Graduate Assistant position to work on this project. February 26, 2014 all co-PIs and candidate for the Graduate Assistant John Campanelli met with the practitioner Larry Weaner at the Connecticut College Arboretum to discuss the selection of native grasses for demonstration sites along Rt. 6 in Connecticut. January-March 2014 all co-PIs conducted the literature search to access all relevant information for the Manual. February-March 2014 – development of the specifications of native grass plantings for the demonstration sites. 5 March, 2014 – phone discussion with Colonial Seed LLC about the plant specifications for the demonstration sites. February-April 2014 communication with Dr. Rebecca Brown from the University of Rhode Island about the project: development of the bluestem ecotype study and discussion of the specifications for the demonstration sites. March 25, 2014 – Kuzovkina visited the University of Delaware to communicate with the colleagues – Susan Barton and Valann Budischak – working on similar DOT project in Delaware. Discussion about saw-dust establishment protocol. March 29-31, 2014 – John Campanelli initiated seed ordering from Ernst Conservation Co.
• John Campanelli was hired for the Graduate Assistant position to work on this project. He conducted the literature search for the appropriate mixture of native seeds to establish demonstration plots.
• April 12 – Cristian Schulthess and John Campanelli collected soil samples from the proposed demonstration sites along Rt. 6
• April 23 Kuzovkina and Schulthess met with Don Woodall from Colonial Seed Co at the road sites to discuss the project
• Colonial Seed Company, CT was consulted during April-May for the protocols suitable for the establishments of demonstration plots.
• CT DOT managers were contacted in order to obtain the permit for the establishment of three demonstration sites along Rt. 6. The meeting with the DOT managers was scheduled for May 9 2014 to inspect the sites to confirm the suitability of obtaining permit. The permit was obtained on May 14, 2014.
• May 20, 2014 all co-PIs, Colonial Seed Co and other consultants on the project met at the proposed demonstration sites along Rt. 6 to confirm the establishment protocols. The seeding protocols include the use of a seed drill, hydroseeding, use of sawdust, and use of a Jacobsen overseeder.
• CT DEEP was contacted to assist with the Truax drill and to provide an operator for the establishment of one demonstration site. Uconn Landscaping was scheduled to conduct the hydroseeding, and Colonial Seed to conduct the overseeding.
• Establishment of the demonstration sites along Rt. 6:
• May 14, 2014 – all demonstration sites were sprayed with RoundUp non-selective herbicide
• May 21, 2014 – all demonstration sites were mowed and raked
• May 27, 2014 – a site with saw-dust application was planted
• May 28, 2014 – a site was hydroseeded with two levels of mulch
• May 29, 2014 – a site was planted with the Truax seed drill
• June 3, 2014 – a site was seeded with the Jacobsen overseeder.
• June 11, 2014 – two botanists from the Arnold Arboretum visited the sites to conduct a survey of existing native and introduced vegetation along Rt. 6.
• By-weekly site inspections were conducted throughout June to observe the germination and establishment rates.
• July 8, 2014 Inspection of the demonstration sites with Mark Lavoi from the Colonial Seed Co to assess the early establishment success of plantings and herbicide needs.
• Campanelli visited a meadow in Western Connecticut installed by the DEEP using a TRUAX seed drill in spring 2014 (Trust Land location: 262 Grantville Rd, Winsted, CT).
• November 21, 2014: Native plant specialist Mark Brownlee from American Native Plant Nursery

Maintenance of the demonstration sites along Rt. 6

• During July 1-September 30:
  • Kuzovkina and Campanelli conducted weekly visits to the three sites to evaluate the germination rates of grasses and forbs as well as weed pressure.
  • Botanists from the Arnold Arboretum were consulted to assist with the identification of native and introduced plant species along Rt. 6.
• July 8, 2014: Inspection of the demonstration sites along Rt. 6 with Mark Lavoi from the Colonial Seed Co to assess the early establishment success of plantings as well as herbicide needs.
• July 28, 2014: Application of Quinclorac  to control crabgrass (sites 1 and 2) and  SpeedZone to control dicots weeds(the hillside near site 1).
• August 8: Inspection of the demonstration sites along Rt. 6 with Don Woodall from the Colonial Seed Co. to discuss management strategies.
• August 31-5: Applications of Round Up and Plateau to the newly established small plots along Rt.6 to study the augmentation of pre-existing native populations approach.
• September 29: Inspection of the demonstration sites along Rt. 6 with Glenn Dreyer from the Colonial Seed Co to discuss management strategies.
• August 7: Kuzovkina and Campanelli visited a meadow in Western Connecticut installed by Larry Weaner.
• September 30: Participation in the Colonial Seed Company Open House to discuss various protocols for the establishment of native grasses and forbs.
• October 15, 2014: Campanelli established native cool-season grass plots
• December 1, 2014: Kuzovkina and Campanelli prepared clay balls with native grass seeds for dormant seeding
• December 15, 2014: Campanelli established dormant seeding plots using clay balls and direct seeding
• Discussion of the treatments for field installation in spring 2015 is in progress.

Survey and Interviews

• Ricard and Campanelli developed a survey instrument based on the qualitative research approach to survey the New England DOT officers. The actual face-to-face interviews will be conducted during October-November.
• November 17, 2014 – interview with the RI DOT managers
• December 8, 2014 – interview with the Maine DOT managers
• December 22, 2014 – interview with the New Hampshire DOT managers
• January 6, 2015 – scheduled to interview the Massachusetts DOT managers
• January 6, 2015 – interviewed the Massachusetts DOT
• Throughout January-February 2015: The attempts to schedule a visit to interview the Vermont DOT managers were unsuccessful (contacted 8 times Bill Ahearn and his colleagues by e-mail and phone).
• March 2015: The decision was made to proceed with the interview analyses without input from Vermont. The complete transcripts for 5 states, visited during October-January, were prepared and analyses were completed. The write-up is in preparation.

Other projects

• July 1-August 31- establishment of a demonstration garden at the UConn Research Farm which includes native grasses and forbs suitable for New England roadsides; this garden serves for educational purposes and for the preparation of a portfolio of pictures which will be used for the Manual.
• July 1-August 31 – establishment of the research plots for the bluestem ecotype study at the UConn Research Farm; this study will characterize and compare 12 ecotypes of little bluestem from various states of New England, Pennsylvania and New York to determine which ecotypes should be used for the roadsides in New England.

Technical Committee Members

• Robert Mossmann (Chairperson), Maine Department of Transportation
• Barbara Rollins, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
• George Batchelor, Massachusetts Highway Department
• Susan L. Fiedler, Connecticut Department of Transportation