Sustainable Road Maintenance Options for Brown County, Wisconsin
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Date
2020-08
Authors
Fields, Katie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The Brown County, Wisconsin Public Works department engaged the University of Oregon Sustainable City Year Program to develop a cost-benefit analysis of roadside maintenance options. This report addresses specific strategies including application of aquatic herbicides, planting low-mow grass, hiring goats to graze ditches, leasing innovative equipment, and using prescribed fire to control invasive species while ideally also reducing annual maintenance costs. In addition to analysis of the costs of each strategy, this report includes information about the terrestrial invasive species of concern in Brown County (phragmites, wild parsnip, thistle, and poison hemlock)
as well as case studies that describe current practices for roadside maintenance in similar counties in Wisconsin and the Midwest. Consideration of each of these elements led
to a recommendation to incorporate multiple strategies into roadside maintenance based on landscape factors. Of the strategies investigated, low-mow grass and goats present the greatest potential for future cost savings while improving the landscape and minimizing risks to human and environmental health.
Description
35 pages