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SSB 3050 Mowing highway right of ways

Fishbonker

Life Member
This bill would repeal the statute that prohibits the mowing of highway right of ways prior to July 15th.

Link: SSB 3050

If passed it could have a negative effect on nesting areas.
 
The harmful effect would be on pheasants. The reasons for wanting to mow earlier would be to get higher quality hay. Over mature grass has less feed value. Also earlier they mow the better chances of getting more cuttings. I would rather they left this the way it was.
 
Pheasants and multiple species of song birds nest in the right of way and medians. More rural roads have been my experience but I have found several nests. When a hens options are a weedless corn field with no ground cover or a grassy roadside I am pretty sure I know where the nest will be. May not save the pheasant population leaving it how it is but there will be a negative impact with the change.
 
Pheasants definitely will nest in ditches. There are several ditches i walk each fall pheasant hunting that they nest in. Not much habitat for them to nest in some places other than brushy ditches.
 
The farmer owns the land to the center of the road. The rest of us have an easement to use the road. That’s how I view it.
While I dont necessarily disagree with this, I know the State and Counties do not allow row crop farming into the ROWs. A farmer near Rudd was farming almost 15 acres of State ROW, and that was a big debacle. One step further, county gis and ONX type systems, farmers only "own" up to the ROW. So they dont "own" to the center of the roads anymore or pay taxes to the center of the roads like they used to (just simply my understanding, no idea if thats the true case)
 
While I dont necessarily disagree with this, I know the State and Counties do not allow row crop farming into the ROWs. A farmer near Rudd was farming almost 15 acres of State ROW, and that was a big debacle. One step further, county gis and ONX type systems, farmers only "own" up to the ROW. So they dont "own" to the center of the roads anymore or pay taxes to the center of the roads like they used to (just simply my understanding, no idea if thats the true case)

Disclaimer...I am not 100% sure on how this or even if it is enforced the same way in every county, etc. But I happened to be looking over some details of a recent property purchase by a friend of mine in Washington County and we were both a little confused as one document, I think it was the deed, indicated a little more acreage than what he thought he was purchasing. He checked and it turns out that basically the ditches and to the center of the roads were considered his property.

I just don't know if he is then taxed on that "extra" or not...but if he was...yeah, I could see why someone would feel like they should be able to plant it. FWIW.
 
Disclaimer...I am not 100% sure on how this or even if it is enforced the same way in every county, etc. But I happened to be looking over some details of a recent property purchase by a friend of mine in Washington County and we were both a little confused as one document, I think it was the deed, indicated a little more acreage than what he thought he was purchasing. He checked and it turns out that basically the ditches and to the center of the roads were considered his property.

I just don't know if he is then taxed on that "extra" or not...but if he was...yeah, I could see why someone would feel like they should be able to plant it. FWIW.
So- you peaked my interest. I just looked at some land in SW Iowa that I know the owners, and it does indeed show they own to the center of the roads. And then in North East Iowa, only to the edge of the ROW. So it is a very county by county thing, which I find very interesting.
 
Pheasants and multiple species of song birds nest in the right of way and medians. More rural roads have been my experience but I have found several nests. When a hens options are a weedless corn field with no ground cover or a grassy roadside I am pretty sure I know where the nest will be. May not save the pheasant population leaving it how it is but there will be a negative impact with the change.
The governments of all states and counties need to pass law where the ROW is the same in all counties and states. Then no more question as to what is owned and by whom. The mowing of all ROW should not happen till after the nesting is done. Some farmers are tearing out all the fence rows and tree lines that all animals use for shelter and places to find food. The advent of big farms and bigger equipment, have made this happen. Some people just believe in the all mighty $$$$ , and do not care for anything else in the world.
 
Around here farmers mow the road ditches to keep noxious weeds down and to keep them from turning into brush. If your mom is traveling down a narrow township rd and needs to move off the shoulder for any reason I'd rather have her in a mowed ditch as opposed to a wild ditch where she can hit some loser's junk tv or broken nail filled dresser.
 
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