We need Georgians to understand and value unmowed roadsides, beyond the safety strip for emergency pull overs, as places for plant and animal diversity. Roadsides and rights of way under utility lines harbor some habitat of relict grassland plant communities. They also serve as corridors connecting habitat for wildlife. Agency partners are changing the ways these sites are managed in order to foster native Georgia grasslands and the wildlife that depends on them. County, state, and federal agency partners as well as departments of transportation work to manage roadside back slopes. They manage powerline and gas line rights of way as well as grassland plant communities using strategic mowing and spot spraying of invasive pest plants.
Check out the partners of the Georgia Grasslands Initiative here!
Through agency partners managing roadsides with strategic mowing and planting in more native wildflowers and grasses, animals such as Whip-or-wills, Snipe, Turkey, Quail, Grouse, small songbirds, and warblers, we help to combat the slow disappearance of them. This also helps to provide habitats for endangered butterflies and bees, which require prairie plants to survive. By planting grasslands along the road, native plants can flourish while also providing beauty to the space.
iNaturalist is an app of citizen scientists and biologists who help to map out biodiversity. This app can be used to map out native plants in Georgia, and help increase awareness of the decline of their existence.
Check out more resources on the value of Native Plants and ways to get involved here!