T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Marshall County Natural Resource Manager Ty Renze explains the importance of implementing a roadside management program in the county. Marshall is one of the 10 counties within the state without a program and without receiving native seed mixes.

Marshall County is one of 10 counties in Iowa without a roadside management program.

At Tuesday’s Grimes Farm event, Stewards of the Beautiful Land — Roadsides at Work, Marshall County Natural Resource Manager Ty Renze and Naturalist Emma Bruck told a class of roughly 10 people the importance of implementing a program.

Such a program, known as Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM), would utilize native grasses and plants along the roadsides of Marshall County, and would help identify remnant patches of land – undisturbed prairie which should be protected.

By implementing a plan, the resulting roadside landscape would not only be aesthetically and environmentally pleasing, but also cost effective. Some of the benefits an IRVM would provide include:

• Low-maintenance weed and erosion control;

• Enhancement to the wildlife habitat;

• Surface runoff and erosion reduction;

• Sustainability through increasing the diversity of species and;

• Reduction in snow drifting and glare.

According to Renze, the county weed commissioner is working with multiple county agencies to come up with a plan for controlling invasive species through an IRVM. He added hopefully an intern will be hired in 2027 to help with the roadside management. First, Renze said a plan needs to be in place.

“He’s working on getting that plan put together, so that will be the first step,” he said. “His plan, his ultimate goal is to convince the supervisors that it is beneficial enough. [If he] can win that battle, then I think we could probably work toward someday having an IRVM program. That’s the future right now.”

Having a plan in place, along with staff to carry it out, would make it possible for Marshall County to be eligible for Living Roadway Trust Fund grants through the Iowa Department of Transportation.

“If you have a plan in place, you could write a grant and get federal dollars or state dollars needed to do this management,” Renze said.

A grant could be used to help purchase specialized equipment, pay for roadside plantings or take inventory of the vegetation.

Renze provided a brief overview of actions the county does and does not take on roadways. Thankfully, he said Marshall County has reduced blanket spraying the ditches. However, spot spraying still happens when complaints are made.

“Hard top roads take priority over any other road,” Renze said.

Prescribed roadside burns do not occur in Marshall. The burns are useful for controlling invasive plant species, reducing the risk of wildfires and maintaining the environment for the plants.

“I worked over in Story County as a seasonal 10 years ago, and we were burning a lot of ditches with the IRVM staff,” he said. “Trees go in ditches. We were suppressing those from growing. You’re getting some of that fuel out of the ditch. So, there are benefits to burning the ditches, as well.”

When it comes to brush control, Renze said the Secondary Roads Department will take care of that when the staff have time to do so.

The primary concern with Marshall County roadsides, he said, is safety. So, county staff will cut vegetation and trees at the corners of intersections to make it easier for drivers to see.

There are 750,000 acres of roadway in Iowa, which means there is the potential for 750,000 acres of native habitat. However, right now only 50,000 acres have that. Bruck added there are 61 counties and 22 cities in the state which manage roadways with an IRVM. Renze could not remember how many roadside acres Marshall County has.

“We manage zero,” he said. “Some landowners manage some of the roadways. . . . I see native plants in some ditches.”

Renze urged attendees to advocate for the implementation of an IRVM plan.

“I think it takes the public to get the ball rolling,” he said.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.