Iowa's Roadside Trees and Brush

Table of Contents

A split photo. The top image shows overgrown woody brush in a roadside. The bottom image shows the same roadside after brush control efforts, with no brush remaining in the roadside.
This before-and-after snapshot of a roadside in Mahaska County shows safety improvements after county IRVM staff removed the brush, eliminating the collision and shade hazards the brush had created.

Iowa’s noxious weed list includes a few woody species. Additionally, several trees and shrubs that are not listed have nonetheless become troublesome in non-agricultural land throughout the state. In roadsides, all trees and brush are potential safety hazards. The primary goal of roadside tree and brush control is to increase safety on the roads. Safety goals include:

  • Providing motorists with unobstructed lines of sight.
  • Ensuring visibility of all signs in the roadsides.
  • Eliminating immovable objects that can cause a dangerous collision if vehicles leave the road in an accident.
  • Alleviating snow drifts caused by the presence of trees and brush.
  • Reducing shade where it prolongs ice on the roads.

Most roadside tree and brush control is accomplished mechanically or chemically. However, a correctly timed prescribed burn can also control brush.

For complete brush control information, see Chapter 8: Brush Control, and refer to “Tree and Brush Control for County Road Right-of-Way,” a 2002 manual from the Iowa Highway Research Board and the Iowa Roadside Management Office.