Appendix 3A: Sample Mowing Law Press Release

Table of Contents

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.