Use this survey as a tool for evaluating existing roadside management practices. The results will identify strengths and weaknesses of the current approach and be a guide for shaping future roadside vegetation management practices. The survey is primarily intended to be used by an integrated roadside vegetation management steering committee. Responses can be subjective, varying widely from one person to the next. Interviewing roadside management personnel will add validity to the results.

1. Existing tree and brush control

a. Maintenance of sight lines

b. Maintenance of the recovery zone

c. Removal of trees that present immovable objects

d. Removal of hazardous tree limbs

e. The amount of tree cutting in general

f. Quality of tree and brush cutting

2. Existing weed control

a. General perception of roadside weed control

b. The amount of roadside spraying being done

c. Effectiveness of roadside weed spraying

d. Characterize the application of herbicides

e. Do spray crews need to cover more of the county/city each year?

f. Is most weed spraying completed during May, June, and September, when spraying is most effective?

g. When a landowner complains about roadside weeds, but the weeds in question are not considered much of a problem, do you...

3. Who does the roadside seeding?

4. When is native vegetation used in roadsides? Circle all that apply.

5. Equipment needs

(Consider working condition, current technology, appropriateness, and availability of each of the following and recommend what equipment needs to be replaced or added. Circle all that apply.)

6. Number of employees with:

Weed control as primary responsibility during spray season: ___
Brush control as secondary responsibility year-round: ___
Herbicide applicator certification: ___
Chainsaw and boom mower experience: ___
Vegetation management knowledge/background: ___
Native plant establishment/management experience: ___
Prescribed burn experience/certification: ___

7. How much is the county/city currently spending on:

Tree and brush control: $_____
Weed control: $_____
Seeding road projects: $_____
Erosion control measure installation: $_____
Weed commissioner salary: $_____

8. Based on your overall assessment of the current roadside vegetation management approach, which of the following would you recommend?

Hire a full-time professional roadside manager
Hire a 9-month assistant roadside manager
Hire more seasonal help
Hire better-qualified seasonal help
Free up more existing personnel for roadside management
All of the above
None of the above (because the current approach is effective)

The following position description contains typical duties and qualifications used by counties or cities in position descriptions when hiring a roadside manager. This description may serve as a template that counties or cities can modify to fit their needs. 

Note: The description is written for a county hiring a roadside manager. However, most references to “county” can be interchanged with “city” for municipalities using this template to hire a roadside manager.

Position Title: Roadside Manager/Roadside Vegetation Manager/Roadside Biologist/Roadside Vegetation Specialist

Department: County Engineer/County Conservation/Independent

Supervisor: County Engineer/Conservation Director/County Supervisors

Salary Range: $48,000–$85,000 (salary dependent on location and years of experience)

Definition

A permanent, full-time position for the general implementation of the county’s Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) program and duties associated with all aspects of vegetation management within county secondary road right-of-way (ROW) corridors. Primary work activities are focused on the continued maintenance and development of safe travel corridors for vehicles and the application of sound ecological principles to manage desired vegetation types along those corridors.

Optional

• Will perform related duties as required by the county engineer.
• Will work directly with parks, wildlife area, and conservation managers to assist them with routine public land and facility management goals and objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities

Required Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform each essential duty. The qualifications represent the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Skills and Abilities

Education and Experience

Communication Abilities

Reasoning Ability

Certification and Licensure

Physical Demands

Work Environment

Other

1. Must be insurable for driving under the county insurance company policies.
2. Applicant will be subject to post-offer, pre-employment drug and physical testing.

The County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages prospective employees and incumbents to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

Prairie County Engineer
1234 Highway 1
Prairie City, Iowa, 54321
555-123-4567

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2025
Contact: Mike Jones, Prairie County Roadside Manager
555-123-4567
irvm@prairiecounty.iowa.gov 

Iowa Mowing Law Protects Roadside Habitats

Prairie County Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) reminds Prairie County residents to protect roadside habitat for nesting game birds and songbirds this spring and early summer.

According to Iowa Code 314.17, mowing roadside ditches is restricted until July 15 to protect young pheasants and other ground-nesting birds until they are ready to fledge. The law, which applies to county secondary roads as well as state primary and interstate highways, also protects habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects, including crop-pest predators.

The law includes the following exceptions that do allow for mowing prior to July 15: 

• Within 200 yards of an inhabited dwelling.

• For visibility and safety reasons.

• For access to a mailbox or for other accessibility purposes.

• Within 50 feet of a drainage tile or tile intake.

• In the right-of-way within one mile of the corporate limits of a city.

• To promote the growth of native vegetation or other long-lived and adaptable vegetation.

• To establish control of damaging insect populations, noxious weeds, and invasive plant species

• Within rest areas, weigh stations, and wayside parks.

• In agricultural demonstration or research plots that are adjacent to the right-of-way.

Prairie County’s roadsides provide a valuable refuge for wildlife. This law serves as a reminder to only mow shoulders during the critical nesting season and leave the rest of the roadside for the birds. For more information, see a brochure called Iowa’s Mowing Law for Roadsides, available at tallgrassprairiecenter.org/roadside-management-brochures.

Established in 2018, Prairie County Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management cares for roadsides along county roads using a variety of management techniques with sound ecological principles. The IRVM approach centers on planting and maintaining safe, healthy, and functional native prairie vegetation, which reduces erosion, enhances rainfall infiltration, creates habitat for pollinators, nesting birds, and other wildlife, and more. The IRVM approach also includes strategic herbicide application and mowing, and weed and brush control.

Prairie County IRVM is a division of the County Secondary Roads Department of Prairie County. For more information, visit prairiecounty.iowa.gov/IRVM.

SAMPLE

(Note: This is provided to show what is generally included in the seed request form. The form has minor changes (e.g., due dates) each year. Therefore, this form is only intended as a sample. Please do not fill out and submit this version of the form. The forms to be filled out and submitted will be emailed to roadside managers each year by the Tallgrass Prairie Center roadside program manager.)

To be picked up at the Tallgrass Prairie Center in spring/early summer 2025

An approved IRVM plan must be on file with the Iowa DOT 
in order to request seed.

Check with Tara Van Waus, Living Roadway Trust Fund coordinator, if you are unsure if your county or city has an IRVM plan. tara.vanwaus@iowadot.us 515-239-1768

Please submit the completed form to Kristine Nemec at: kristine.nemec@uni.edu or UNI Roadside Program, 2412 W. 27th St., Cedar Falls, IA 50614 no later than October 18, 2024.

County or City: _____________________________
Name:________________________________
Email address:_____________________
Phone number:___________________________
Signature:_________________________________
Date:____________________

Acres of seed requested (either 2.5 acres or in 10-acre increments, e.g. 10, 20, 30, etc. acres. Please no 5, 15, 25, 35, etc. acres). This seed is only to be used within county or city rights-of-way. All seed picked up in 2025 must be planted no later than December 31, 2026.

______ Acres of cleanout mix (around 20 native grass, forb, and sedge species)
______ Acres of diversity mix (around 35-38 native grass, forb, and sedge species)

Check all methods you will be using to plant the seed:

______ Hydroseeding
______ Hand broadcast seeding
______ Broadcast seeding with equipment that will not cause rutting
______ * Broadcast seeding with heavy equipment such as a tractor that may cause rutting
______ * Drilling

*If you are planning to drill, or use heavy equipment such as a tractor that may cause rutting more than 6 inches to broadcast seed for any of the 2025 seed that you will receive, note the requirement for ensuring cultural resources compliance. The locations for seed that will be drilled or seeded using heavy equipment between when you pick it up next spring and December 31, 2026 are also due by October 18, 2024 as described below. If you are hydroseeding, mechanically broadcast seeding using equipment that will not rut, or hand broadcast seeding all of the seed, you only need to report the number of acres of seed you would like, you do not have to report seeding locations.

Because the seed is acquired through a federal grant through the Federal Highway Administration, every year IDOT reviews the grant on behalf of FHWA to ensure it meets federal environmental and cultural regulations. Even if the roadside construction/maintenance project did not involve federal funds, the planting of the seed is subject to federal review. Through this process seeding locations need to be provided for review. Per the National Historic Preservation Act, the Iowa State Historic Preservation Officer and other consulting parties (Native American Tribes/Nations) are allowed to review and comment on these undertakings regarding the presence or treatment of historic properties. Our focus is to ensure drill seeding and equipment does not disturb burial locations. Please submit your drilling and heavy equipment locations to me in the format below and the tribes will review it. Do your best to anticipate the locations of any construction projects that you will drill or use heavy equipment on by the end of 2026, erring on the side of including a bit more than the area anticipated to be safe.

Google Earth files (.kmz) are required. For those who may be unfamiliar there is very good instruction on the internet and YouTube on how to create polygons in Google Earth. Truly, Google Earth is easy to use and really helps expedite this process.     

• create a polygon for each drill seed location, or where heavy equipment will be used (points or pins are insufficient)

• label the polygon with name of the road used on Google Earth (if there is more than one, use sequential numbering, Casper Ave 1, Casper Ave 2, etc.); 

• make each polygon slightly larger than will be needed (general rule of thumb is 100 feet in each direction)

• each county needs to complete the attached table (very basic – one table per county)

It is important to comply with this request to be good stewards of cultural resources and follow state and federal laws. Although the entire ROW is often assumed to be disturbed, there are recorded burial sites in the roadside located in various counties around the state. Archaeologists and contractors find unrecorded burial sites regularly. It is critical that you avoid unintentionally uncovering or disturbing a burial site during a road project not only for the bad publicity for the county but to avoid jeopardizing receipt of Transportation Alternatives Program funds by the Iowa IRVM program in the future. 

In the long-term, your county may benefit from having a desktop cultural resources study done by a consultant. A consultant can review records and provide the county an inventory of burial locations within and near the ROW. Certain county employees then have internal access to proactively check for burial sites before any roadside project, whereby being able to avoid these locations in the future and streamline the seeding review. Contact Brennan Dolan, IDOT cultural resources manager/archaeologist, at brennan.dolan@dot.iowa.gov or 515-239-1795 for more information on consultants who can conduct a study. There may be a cost savings for neighboring counties to join together to have a desktop study done for their counties.

2025 Cleanout Mix, 10 Acres

Group I—Grasses and Grass-Like Plants

*These are in the forb bags.
PLS = pure live seed

1 Black Bag, Blue Tie

Group II—Forbs

PLS = pure live seed

2025 Diversity Mix, 10 Acres

Group I—Grasses and Grass-Like Plants

*These are in the forb bags.
PLS = pure live seed

1 Black Bag, Grey Tie

Group II—Forbs

PLS = pure live seed

Wet Species

PLS = pure live seed

Note: The last species will grow best in a wetter habitat, a location with more soil moisture such as the ditch bottom. The 3 species labeled as having small seeds won’t grow if they get buried. One way to plant them would be to mix the seed in a bucket of sand and scatter it by hand on the soil surface towards the bottom of the ditch.

Native Plant and Seedling Guides

Books

• An Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants by Paul Christiansen and Mark Müller (1999).
• How to Know the Grasses by Richard Pohl (1978).
• The Prairie in Seed: Identifying Seed-Bearing Prairie Plants in the Upper Midwest by Dave Williams (2016).
• Roadside Plants and Flowers by Marian Edsall (1985).
• The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest by Dave Williams (2010).
• Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers and Plants of the Prairie Midwest by Douglas Ladd and Frank Oberle (1995).
• The Vascular Plants of Iowa by Lawrence Eilers and Dean Roosa (1994).
• Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest by Sylvan Runkel and Dean Roosa (2009).

Free Online Publications

• Central Region Seedling ID Guide for Native Prairie Plants by Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Materials Program and Missouri Department of Conservation (2005).
• The Prairie Seedling and Seeding Evaluation Guide by Santec for the Iowa Department of Transportation Living Roadway Trust Fund.
• Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin by Steve Eggers and Donald Reed (2015).

Restoration and Management Guides 

Books

• A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction by Carl Kurtz (2013).
• The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States by Chris Helzer (2010). 
• The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Prairie Restoration in the Upper Midwest by Daryl Smith, Dave Williams, Greg Houseal, and Kirk Henderson (2010).
• The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook edited by Stephen Packard and Cornelia Mutel (2005).

Free Online Publications

• Native Seed Production Manual by the Tallgrass Prairie Center.
• Tree and Brush Control for County Road Right-of-Way by Iowa Highway Research Board—Iowa Department of Transportation and Roadside Management Program at the University of Northern Iowa (2002).

Weed and Weed Seedling Guides

Books

• Invasive Plants of the Upper Midwest: An Illustrated Guide to Their Identification and Control by Elizabeth Czarapata (2005).
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada edited by Charles Bryson and Michael DeFelice (2010).
• Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains by James Stubbendieck, Geir Friisoe, and Margaret Bolick (1995).
• Weeds of the Northern U.S. and Canada: A Guide for Identification by France Royer and Richard Dickinson (1999).

Free Online Publications

• A Field Guide to Terrestrial Invasive Plants in Wisconsin edited by Thomas Boos, Kelly Kearns, Courtney LeClair, Brendon Panke, Bryn Scriver, and Bernadette Williams (2010).
• Common Weed Seedlings of the North Central States by Andrew Chomas, James Kells, and J. Boyd Carey (2001).

According to Iowa Code Section 317.13, landowners who want to burn, mow, or spray in roadsides must obtain a work permit. The following sample work permit contains excerpted sections from permits found in county integrated roadside vegetation management (IRVM) plans. This sample permit is not meant to be comprehensive or a direct template. See the county IRVM plans on the Living Roadway Trust Fund’s IRVM website for examples of actual permits.

Prairie County Secondary Roads Department 
Permit to Perform Work Within the Right-of-Way

Date:____/____/________

Name:______________________________________________________________________

Address:____________________________________________________________________

Phone:______________________________________________________________________

Email:_______________________________________________________________________

Work site address or road name(s):______________________________________________

Section:_______________________ Township:_______________________

Other identifying information (e.g., near a landmark): _______________________________

Request details (what work do you want to do and why?): ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Permits are required before any physical change can be made. 
2. Work must comply with the County's integrated roadside vegetation management regulations any all laws now in effect or that may be hereafter enacted.
3. The permittee must take all reasonable precautions during the work to protect and safeguard the lives and property of road users and adjacent property owners. The County shall be held harmless for any injuries, damages, or losses that may occur. Proper warning signs and/or devices in compliance with the Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways shall be used to alert road users of work being done. 
4. The permittee shall hold the County harmless for any damage to the road due to the work being done. The permittee shall reimburse the County for any costs incurred due to the permittee's work. 

Foliar Brush Control Herbicide Recommendations

Roadside manager notes (2011) — Foliar herbicide:

• Garlon/Escort is a common mix for brush control. Where Garlon (triclopyr) is noted, either Garlon 3A (amine formulation) or Garlon 4 (ester) can be used. Garlon 4 is usually more effective but in hot weather can volatilize drift and affect non-target species. 3A is non-volatile and usually considered the best choice for hot weather. 
• We quit spraying Tordon in roadside situations due to standing water and high water tables.
• Arsenal usually kills cool season grass, which can eventually create thistle problems. We limit its use to Japanese Knotweed.
• We've had good luck with Opensight at 3.3 ounces per acre plus an additional 1 ounce per acre of Escort on all of these trees.
• Honeysuckle control is different. When isolated patches are found, consider basal treatment.

Basal Bark Brush Control Herbicide Recommendations

Roadside Manager Notes (2011) — Basal Bark Herbicide:

• We've started adding about 0.5–1% Stalker to our 25% Garlon 4 mix. We used to add 3% Stalker, but our "ring of death" seemed to last for three or more years rather than just one.
• It helps to hack up thick- or corky-barked tress and trees > 2 inches in diameter.
• For most trees, we use 2.5 gallons Garlon plus 4 quarts Stalker plus 12.5 gallons diesel fuel or basal oil to make about a 15 gallon mix.

2002 herbicide recommendations taken from Tree and Brush Control for County Road Right-of-Way.

Some landowners prefer that herbicides are not used to manage weeds in the roadsides that border their property. The following sample no-spray request form contains excerpted sections from similar forms found in county integrated roadside vegetation management (IRVM) plans. This sample permit is not meant to be comprehensive or a direct template. See the county IRVM plans on the Living Roadway Trust Fund’s IRVM website for examples of actual forms.

Prairie County Secondary Roads Department
No-Spray Request Form

I, __________________________, hereby request that the Prairie County Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) department, within the Secondary Roads Department, refrain from applying pesticides in the right-of-way adjacent to my property, located at the address of _______________________________________, on the ________ side of the road in Section_______ of ________________________Township along ___________________ road. In return, I agree that I am responsible for the vegetation management of the above-described portion of the right-of-way, including the destruction of noxious weeds and the prevention of new growth or regrowth of trees and brush. This request is valid for one growing season.

I understand that other parties (e.g., electric, gas, phone companies) may apply pesticides and herbicides and cut trees and brush within the right-of-way.

I acknowledge that if I fail to properly manage the right-of-way by non-chemical means, Prairie County reserves the right to spray the area, at which time the agreement becomes null and void and the right-of-way is returned to the IRVM for management. 

I understand that it is my responsibility to post and maintain “No Spray” signs provided by Prairie County Conservation at a rate of $____ per set. Signs must remain visible from the roadway. If they are not visible or properly maintained, the agreement becomes null and void.

Approval is ▢ given ▢ not given from date below to the end of the current calendar year. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a renewed application by January 1, ________.

Iowa Pesticide Applicator Licenses and Certifications 

Certified Applicators 

Each individual who applies pesticides for a state or county agency, municipal corporation or other government entity is required to be certified. Certified public applicators may obtain a one-year certification for $10 or a three-year certification for $15. Certifications are valid only when associated with a valid licensed agency. Written examinations are required for first-time applicators. Written exams are also required for individuals adding on certification categories and those persons choosing not to maintain continuing instruction credit hours.

The core examination and appropriate category test(s) must be successfully passed before application for certification can be made. Additional categories may be added anytime with no extra charge. Any category will carry the same expiration date as the card on which it is added. Each certified individual must be listed as an applicator under a current Iowa pesticide applicator license for that certification to be valid. 

Renewal of Applicator Certifications 

Each applicator is placed on a three-year “qualification cycle.” During those three years, an applicator may maintain a single-year certification by submitting a one-year fee and renewal form (certification renewal forms are provided by the Pesticide Bureau). A 30-day grace period from the date of expiration will be allowed for the renewal of the certification. At the end of the qualification cycle each applicator must indicate a method of renewal by: 

1. Declaring that at least two hours of continuing instruction for each certified application category has been received for each of the previous three years and verification of having received training is on file with the applicator’s employer; or, 
2. Completing written tests at the end of the third year of the “qualification cycle;” or, 
3. Maintaining a combination of training and testing. 

Note: An applicator who misses two hours of training for any one category for any one year is required to complete written tests for that particular category. There are no provisions for “making up” missed continuing instruction hours to avoid the written test. 

Written applicator tests are offered daily, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wallace Building at East Ninth and Grand in Des Moines. If a group of ten or more is involved, please call (515) 281-4339 or (515) 286-5601 and make an appointment. Otherwise, no appointment is necessary. Photo identification is required. Tests are also offered on a limited basis at some cooperative extension service area offices. Please contact either the area office or the Pesticide Bureau for a current testing schedule.

Contact Information 

Restricted-Use Pesticide Recordkeeping 

These rules apply to both certified private and commercial applicators. The Iowa Pesticide Act requires applicators to keep records of all pesticide applications for 3 years. The federal regulations require pesticide applicators to record the following information within 14 days of the restricted use pesticide application: 

• The brand or product name and the EPA registration number of the restricted use pesticide that was applied. 
• The total amount of the restricted-use pesticide applied. 
• The location of the application. 
• The size of the area treated. 
• The crop, commodity, stored product or site to which the pesticide was applied. 
• The month, day and year on which the restricted-use pesticide application occurred. 
• The name and certification number of the certified applicator who applied the restricted-use pesticide.

More information can found in this IDALS document. 

Controlling brush in roadsides enhances driver safety and is a key component of any Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) plan. The following excerpts from IRVM city and county plans across Iowa serve as examples of policies in place used to manage roadside brush.

Removal of a public tree shall be complete, and the work site shall be cleaned up promptly and all tree trunks, limbs, branches, twigs and brush shall be disposed of in an authorized manner.
—City of Davenport Procedure for Tree Removal section

As stated in the previous section about chemicals, the goal is to utilize native forbs, grasses, and sedges to compete with weeds and woody species to reduce the amount of pesticide needed in the future.
—Polk County Tree and Brush Control section

A systematic approach will be needed to control brush…the control of brush from the fore slope to ditch bottom should be managed countywide. As time and resources allow, additional areas of the ROW can be controlled for brush.
—Bremer County Noxious Weed and Brush Control section

Brush control represents the major thrust of mechanical or "hands-on" implementation for Des Moines County's Roadside Vegetation Management program. Small brush will be controlled using spot-treatment techniques designed not to disturb beneficial plant communities.
—Des Moines County Brush Control Plan section

Tree and brush control (non-herbicidal) is conducted on all portions of the right-of-way in IRVM seedings as time and resources allow.
—Guthrie County Tree and Brush Control section

The number one concern for a brush removal policy is safety for the traveling and general public... There are certain conditions within the Right of Way in which brush or trees present clear hazards. In these situations, the brush and trees which are in close proximity to the road surface must be removed. Trees within the Right of Way, but greater than 30 feet from the road surface present reduced hazard and may be considered individually.
—Johnson County Brush Control Policy

Webster County currently has a contractor hired to spray brush by a foliar application on a four-year rotation. The county is divided up into 4 horizontal tiers in which one tier is sprayed each year. The Secondary Road Department works two tiers ahead of the contractor cutting down larger brush and trees. When the contractor arrives at that site two years later the re-growth is the proper size to receive a foliar application.
—Webster County Brush/Tree Control section

Prairie County Engineer
1234 Highway 1
Prairie City, Iowa, 54321
555-123-4567

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2025
Contact: Mike Jones, Prairie County Roadside Manager
555-123-4567
irvm@prairiecounty.iowa.gov

Prescribed Burning in County Roadsides

Prairie County Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) will be conducting prescribed burns in roadsides adjacent to county roads during the next few months. Prescribed burns are an effective resource management tool utilized to discourage the growth of weeds and woody vegetation, while promoting the growth of desired native prairie vegetation in roadsides. All staff members working on prescribed burns are certified in wildland firefighting and take all necessary safety precautions to minimize the risks associated with a prescribed fire. Please use caution when approaching a burn site, as staff members and equipment may be near the road.

Established in 2018, Prairie County Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management cares for roadsides along county roads using a variety of management techniques with sound ecological principles. The IRVM approach centers on planting and maintaining safe, healthy, and functional native prairie vegetation, which reduces erosion, enhances rainfall infiltration, creates habitat for pollinators, nesting birds, and other wildlife, and more. The IRVM approach also includes strategic herbicide application and mowing, and weed and brush control.

Prairie County IRVM is a division of the County Secondary Roads Department of Prairie County. For more information, visit prairiecounty.iowa.gov/IRVM.

P R A I R I E  C O U N T Y  E N G I N E E R
1 2 3 4  H I G H W A Y  1
P R A I R I E  C I T Y ,  I O W A  5 4 3 2 1
5 5 5 - 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7

MEMO

TO: Joan Q. Public
FROM: Mike Jones, Prairie County Roadside Manager
DATE: MARCH 10, 2025
RE: Controlled burning in the roadside

Joan Q. Public
4321 Apple Avenue
Prairie City, IA 54321

 A prescribed burn for the roadside in the vicinity of your residence is scheduled to be conducted this spring by Prairie County Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management. The burn will be conducted by adequately trained personnel and only under the safest conditions. The purpose of this memo is to notify you that:

1. A prescribed burn will occur in the roadside on Apple Avenue between 120th Avenue and 130th Avenue.
2. Smoke will be produced in and around the vicinity of the burn for a short time.
3. This action may require minor traffic control around your residence.

Why Prescribed Burning?

In order to encourage the establishment of native plants in our county roadsides, Prairie County Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management uses various management techniques with sound ecological principles. Prescribed burning (not to be confused with wildfire) is any fire ignited by management actions to meet specific objectives. Goals of prescribed burns in terms of roadside management include stimulating the growth of desirable species such as native grasses and flowers, impeding the growth of undesirable species such as weeds and woody vegetation, and giving desirable species a competitive advantage over undesirable species. In some instances, a prescribed burn may replace the need to use herbicides in the roadside. 

For any questions, comments, or concerns about this notice, please contact:

Mike Jones, Roadside Manager/Weed Commissioner
Prairie County Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management
Prairie County Secondary Roads Department
1234 Hwy 1
Prairie City, IA 54321 
555-123-4567
irvm@prairiecounty.iowa.gov 

Burn History

Last updated: 5/1/2025

Location: west side of Apple Ave. between 120th St. and 130th St.

Date: April 18, 2025

Prescribed Burn Parameter for This Location

Temperature: 40–70°F

Wind direction(s): East or southeast

Wind speed: <15 miles per hour

Relative humidity: >30%

Personnel requirements: 1 crew boss, 1 additional

Equipment requirements: 1 pump truck (300 gallons), hand tools, 1 backpack sprayer

Potential hazards:

• Wood utility poles (x6)
• Phone box 20 yards north of farm drive
• Corn stubble in adjacent field (tilled)
• Stop sign
• Plastic culvert under farm drive

Prepared Fire Breaks Required

Description:

• Wet line near the intersection of Apple Ave. and 120th St.
• Wet lines around potential hazards

Potential anchor points: Northwest or southwest corners

Special concerns:

• Heavy traffic on Apple Ave. after 3 p.m.
• Acreages/farms located to the west and northwest

Notes:

Smooth brome is abundant on the north end–early spring burn is desired

Emergency Phone: Conservation Board office, 555-111-5678

Local Fire District: Prairie City Fire Department, 555-111-8765

Location: west side of Apple Ave. between 120th St. and 130th St.

Date: April 18, 2025

Personnel:

• Crew boss: Mike Jones
• Crew: James Smith

Forecasted Weather Data

Source: NOAA

Forecast time frame: 9–11 a.m.

Temperature: 60–68°F

Relative humidity: 55–62%

Relative humidity: 58%

Dew point: 32°F

Wind direction: southeast

Wind speed: 7–10 mph

Cloud cover: partly cloudy

Beginning On-Site Weather Data

Time: 9:35 a.m.

Temperature: 64°F

Dewpoint: 32°F

Wind direction: east-south-east

Wind speed: 8–10 mph

Cloud cover: Mostly sunny

Ending On-Site Weather Data

Time: 10:15 a.m.

Temperature: 66°F

Relative humidity: 53%

Dewpoint: 30°F

Wind direction: southeast

Wind speed: 8–10 mph

Cloud cover: Partly cloudy

Notes: 90% burn–approximately 2 acres