Mowing the grass and plants in the right-of-way alongside a road is an important part of keeping the public safe, according to St. Louis County environmental engineer Carol Andrews.

“Trees in general are good for the environment. But in the right of way, they can be dangerous,” she explained.

The county did get quite a bit of mowing done during the dry winter we had.

And now, they are being more deliberate about their mowing, now that they have another focus: helping the monarch butterfly.

This month, St Louis County will become a full partner in the Monarch Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA). It’s a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Andrews explained, “We voluntarily sign up to be a partner and do conservation management, which is planting more native seed mixes, but also being more conscious of where and when we mow. And by doing those conservation measures on about 5% at a minimum of the right-of-way and so on, in exchange for that, if the monarch gets listed as endangered, we will have more leeway and less restrictions going forward.” That’s in relation to their road projects.

Having certain areas free of trees is also good for pollinator habitat, which is why the wildlife service thought the roadsides would be a good option, Andrews said.

They are just developing the mowing program now, and will be using technology to better track what plants are growing where.