Pheasants Forever says don’t mow those roadside ditches
After a long spring, it finally feels like summer. Since I was knee-high to a toad stool, summer has meant one thing – time to mow the grass. Dad would wave a five dollar bill, coaxing me into firing up the family John Deere. He was particularly adamant about mowing the ditch along our frontage road, so “it would look nice to passers-by and our neighbors.” I would hem and haw about the beauty of goldenrod, Indian paintbrushes, and the assortment of flowering weeds, but dear old dad would have none of it. The roadsides around our family farm were trimmed all summer and burned in the fall. However, my time with Pheasants Forever has taught me a few new things to convince all dads not to mow and burn those ditches. Roadsides form an extensive network of grassy corridors, providing nesting, brooding, and winter cover for pheasants and a wide variety of wildlife. As urban sprawl and intensified farming gobble up more prairies, these grassy roadsides oftentimes provide the only significant nesting cover for pheasants and other ground-nesting critters. Eliminating, or at the very least delaying until late summer, roadside mowing in these areas can be very beneficial to many wildlife populations.
Though pheasants and waterfowl are often seen along roadsides, few people realize the importance of roadside ditches to wildlife. Research has shown that up to one-half of all pheasants produced may come from roadsides. That number can escalate to nearly two-thirds in areas without land set aside by the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Likewise, roadsides are also a waterfowl favorite for nesting. Waterfowl nesting research has shown that of all cover types available, shorelines and roadsides contain the highest number of waterfowl nests per acre. One reason for this finding seems to be the nature of roadside ditches as “edges.” Edges are complex habitats that join two differing landscapes. These edges create a middle ground that meets a variety of needs that include food and cover. Roadsides, with their linear shape and mix of wetland and grassland habitats, maximize the edge effect. In addition to pheasants and waterfowl, roadside ditches support gray partridge, rabbits, a variety of small mammals, and a myriad of songbirds (meadowlarks, redwings, dickcissels, vesper sparrows, etc).
“In the lean years before CRP, roadside ditches were a major source of pheasant production,” says Jim Wooley, Pheasants Forever senior wildlife biologist. “We don’t seem to give them a moment’s consideration nowadays. That’s shortsighted, since roadsides are an important component in the grand scheme of habitat. Whenever possible, roadside mowing should be eliminated. Grasses that are left standing over winter are very attractive to early nesters come spring. However, Pheasants Forever understands that visibility and snow drifting are issues that can require limited roadside mowing, a chore that can be accomplished in late summer. At the very least, mowing should be delayed until August 1, when the crucial period for nesting and brood rearing has passed. In fact, Pheasants Forever has supported policy in many states that delays roadside mowing to give wildlife a break and preserve habitat.”