Perry Pilot

In recent years, restoration of both private and public lands to enhance pollinator habitat has been a concept in the making for many Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) throughout the United States. The idea for Utah to launch a state-wide effort to boost pollinator access to suitable habitat is being assessed through the launch of a pilot program (2021). With the help of a team of specialists, a site selection protocol was developed to categorize potential UDOT properties based on high impact potential for regional pollinators, high visibility and public outreach, good potential for restoration success, and adequate availability to resources. Perry, Utah was the top-ranking site in northern Utah based on these criteria. 

Since its launch, the Perry Pollinator Habitat Enhancement Site located at Perry Rest Area along the I-15 corridor has undergone a major transition. Sod has been removed from an existing pet area to transform the diverse landscape into a 1/4 acre pollinator habitat, complete with walking paths and interpretive signs. This land now hosts and diverse selection native plants and pollinator species, including a wild breeding monarch population. An iNaturalist project recording pollinator presence both before and after restoration efforts has been developed, along with a maintenance manual for UDOT personnel to help guide maintenance and management efforts. 

UDOT’s Role In Species Conservation – Why Are Pollinator Habitats are Important for Transportation?

Currently, State Department of Transportations (DOTs) manage about 17 million acres of land with the potential to be converted to pollinator habitat.  Some of the reasons providing more natural habitats along roadsides and at rest areas is beneficial for our local pollinators and other wildlife are:

• The presence of more natural habitats helps sustain native pollinator populations, acts as “waystations” for migrating pollinators such as the monarch butterfly, and increases critical connective corridors across the landscape.
• Many native plant species are long-lived and deep-rooted (and thus, do not need to be replanted each year) and require little fertilizer or supplemental watering.
• Native plants help stabilize soils, increase stormwater infiltration (less runoff), replenish the water table, and sequester carbon.
• Pollinator habitats are aesthetically pleasing and offer the public an opportunity to learn about native plants and pollinators through interpretive signs.

DOTs can invest in pollinator habitats by using integrated roadside vegetation management when controlling invasive species, when landscaping these areas during new construction and rehabilitation projects, and by replacing existing manicured landscapes (typically a monoculture of non-native grass) with a more natural, native, and less resource-dependent habitat.