2018 NAPPC Pollinator Roadside Management Award Winner

Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT)

IDOT has demonstrated their long-term commitment to pollinator habitat in multiple ways, including new mowing policies that will create an estimated 100,000 additional acres of pollinator habitat and the dedication of $500,000 of their annual budget for new pollinator habitat and restoration projects. They have also updated the statewide seeding specifications and standards to include monarch butterfly and pollinator friendly seed mixes, with multiple species of milkweed. Additionally, they place a large emphasis on pollinator friendly rights-of-way (ROW) management, partnering with companies to provide habitat along ROWs, engaging in multiple ROW working groups, serving on the ROW Sector Technical Team in 2017 and 2018, and drafting the Transportation ROW strategies for the sector. IDOT regularly engages the public with by staffing fair booths, registering existing habitat, and distributing over 7,000 seed packets. They are working towards restoring 200 acres of pollinator habitat since August 2016.