Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group

habitat conservation + working landscapes

A close-up image of a bee hovering near a vibrant pink flower, surrounded by green foliage, highlighting the importance of pollinators in nature.

Resources library

This online library is a clearinghouse of tools and information related to habitat on rights-of-way and other lands. From seed mix calculators to mowing guidelines and everything in between, you’ll find it here.

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Final report titled

Comparison of Cost, Safety, and Environmental Benefits of Routine Mowing and Managed Succession of Roadside Vegetation

Best Management Practices, Case Studies and Research

This document from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute provides guidance for roadside vegetation management to identify the cost, safety, and environmental impacts of routine mowing compared with managed succession of vegetation for areas outside the safety clear zone.
Cover image for the report titled

Nature-Based Solutions for Corporate Landowners

Policy and Publications

This guide by the Wildlife Habitat Council serves as a catalog for corporate landowners to learn more about specific nature-based solutions (NbS) to climate challenges, and select those that best align with their needs. The publication includes twenty NbS interventions, from reforestation to green roofs, as well as real-life case studies that illustrate how corporations have successfully implemented each solution.

Image of the WHC white paper titled

Building Sustainable Supply Chains: How Nature-Based Solutions Can Address Operational Risks

This white paper, created by the Wildlife Habitat Council, explores how WHC members across the value chain are responding to industry-specific challenges and opportunities surrounding biodiversity and sustainability, and how they are working with each other on a large scale to create more sustainable supply chains.

Alt text: Research article titled

Rapid Assessment of Roadsides as Potential Habitat for Monarchs and Other Pollinators

This paper documents the development and testing of a protocol for rapid assessment of roadside rights-of-way that aids roadside managers with identifying potential locations for monarch habitat along roadsides and with evaluating the effects of management activities. The researchers found that their protocol provided similar data as the more intensive protocol regarding milkweed densities, nectar plant species richness, and monarch use of sites, and that high habitat values roadside rights-of-way confirm the potential of such habitat for pollinator and monarch conservation.

Thumbnail for Effectiveness Monitoring Template & CCAA Results Monitoring Calculator. Click the thumbnail to open the tool in a new window.

Effectiveness Monitoring Template & CCAA Results Monitoring Calculator

Conservation Agreements

This spreadsheet provides a template for tracking effectiveness monitoring requirements in a tabular format. Also included is a calculator to help CCAA Partners perform their adaptive management calculations.

Updated 08/06/2025.

Map illustrating safe mowing dates for roadside and rights-of-way areas in Canada to protect monarch butterflies. The map highlights different regions with color-coded dates indicating when mowing can occur with minimal risk to pollinator habitats. An approximate monarch range is marked, along with major cities such as Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Montreal.

Canadian Roadside and Rights-of-Way Mowing Safe Dates

Best Management Practices

The Canadian Wildlife Federation prepared this handout providing recommended time frames by region during which mowing practices may be less detrimental to local monarch populations in Canada.