By JENNIFER MARSHALL
Across Florida, pollinators quietly sustain ecosystems that define the state’s natural character. From backyard gardens to sprawling agricultural lands, bees, butterflies and other pollinating species play a foundational role in the health of both natural and human systems. Increasingly, environmental professionals are recognizing that meaningful pollinator conservation must extend beyond preserves and parks into the everyday landscapes that crisscross the state.
One of those landscapes is Florida’s transportation network.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), through its Office of Environmental Management (OEM), is leaning into that reality by treating highway right of way not just as infrastructure, but as opportunity. Through its Wildflower Program and participation in the nationwide voluntary Monarch Butterfly Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA), FDOT is reframing roadside land as part of Florida’s broader pollinator solution.
Denise Rach, FDOT’s Project Delivery Coordinator within the Office of Environmental Management, is helping lead implementation on the ground.
“Roadsides are really valuable spaces that are often overlooked,” Rach said. “They can collectively provide significant pollinator habitat. Pollinators are critical to our ecosystems and FDOT is looking to protect and preserve vulnerable pollinators like the Monarch Butterfly, through our milkweed initiative.”
Why Milkweed
Milkweed occupies a uniquely important place in pollinator conservation conversations, largely because of its direct relationship with monarch butterflies. Monarchs rely exclusively on milkweed species to lay their eggs; without it, their life cycle cannot be completed. In Florida, this relationship carries additional complexity due to the state’s climate and geography.
Unlike northern states where monarchs pass through seasonally, Florida hosts both migratory and resident populations. That means milkweed availability, placement and management matter year-round, not just during migration windows.
Rach emphasized that milkweed is not a one-size-fits-all plant. Species selection, geographic placement and maintenance practices all influence ecological outcomes.
“Milkweed is critical to the return migration that occurs each spring as it allows for the recolonization of Florida, which couldn’t happen if the plant were absent from the landscape,” Rach said. “Additionally, resident populations of monarchs in south Florida would not be able to complete their life cycle if these plants weren’t available for a large portion of the year. Understanding the needs of these host plants helps to inform decisions, such as milkweed species selection, planting location and maintenance practices that work to promote successful populations of milkweed in the right of way.”
Rethinking the Roadside
FDOT maintains tens of thousands of acres of right of way across the state. Historically, this land has been managed primarily for safety, visibility, drainage and asset protection. Those priorities remain foundational, but they do not limit how the Department thinks about this asset.
“Right of way,” in OEM’s view, is one of the largest contiguous land assets available for environmental stewardship in Florida. When managed strategically, it can serve transportation needs while also supporting native vegetation and pollinators.
Rach and her team work closely with district maintenance offices to ensure that milkweed and wildflower plantings are compatible with roadway operations and maintenance activities.
“Our goal is to enhance the right of way to provide more pollinator habitat but also to increase the beautification of Florida’s roadsides for the traveling public,” Rach said. “Planting and fostering wild populations of wildflowers is a compatible use with meeting the safety requirements within the right of way on transportation corridors.”
Milkweed and FDOT’s Wildflower Program
FDOT’s Wildflower Program has long been a visible symbol of the agency’s environmental commitment. Originally centered on beautification and community pride, the program has matured alongside advances in ecological science and public expectations.
Today, wildflowers are selected not only for visual impact, but for their ecological function. Milkweed fits naturally into this program as both a native plant and a critical host species.
Rach notes that years of wildflower management provided valuable lessons. Plant survival rates, mowing cycles, soil conditions and seasonal timing all played into how FDOT now incorporates milkweed.
“Native milkweed is not a commercially available seed and must be grown and planted as an established plant making it difficult to source,” Rach said. “Soil, sun exposure and water availability all play a crucial role in the plant’s survival. Consideration of planting locations are crucial for long term survival and establishment of new plantings. Limited availability of plants places a higher importance on survivorship so care and consideration go into the selection of each planting location.”
Partnering with the University of Florida
Recognizing the technical and scientific complexity of milkweed production, FDOT partnered with the University of Florida to strengthen its approach. The collaboration supports research, propagation and best practices tailored specifically to Florida’s regions.
The partnership allows FDOT to base decisions on applied science rather than assumptions. It also provides a feedback loop where field observations from FDOT corridors help inform academic research.
Rach describes the relationship as mutually reinforcing. FDOT brings scale and real-world conditions while the University brings research expertise and innovation.
“Our partnership with the University of Florida is what makes these plantings possible. UF has the ability to grow native milkweed from their private seed sources, install the plants and monitor them to determine success,” she said. “The FDOT partnership with UF is a win for both the partners and the pollinators.”
Further University study allows FDOT to create and implement best practices. As of this year, University staff have installed more than 9,000 milkweeds on FDOT right of way.
From Strategy to Soil
Turning pollinator goals into reality requires translating policy into field level decisions. FDOT District Maintenance staff identify appropriate locations, manage planting schedules and coordinate long-term maintenance.
Milkweed integration often occurs alongside native wildflowers, creating layered habitat rather than isolated plantings. OEM emphasizes that success depends on patience; ecological benefits accrue over time, not overnight.
Rach noted that roadside habitat can serve as connective tissue between larger natural areas, supporting pollinator movement across fragmented landscapes.
“Roadsides are often overlooked,” said Rach. “These spaces provide a great conservation opportunity through compatible usage that fit together to meet the needs of pollinators and roadway safety.
Wildflowers along the roadsides also can provide a beautiful aesthetic for the traveling public which may encourage them to slow down and take a second look. Creating pollinator habitat in these spaces gives FDOT ROW [right of way] an ecological purpose that is compatible with the needs of transportation,” noted Rach.
Looking Ahead
As Florida continues to grow, the need to connect ecosystems remains. From a production and delivery standpoint, FDOT’s approach demonstrates how large public agencies can integrate environmental stewardship into core operations.
Future efforts may include expanded research partnerships, refined planting guidance and continued collaboration across disciplines.
“The CCAA is a long-term agreement and we’re constantly evaluating our performance under that program,” said Rach. “Moving forward, we hope to improve and refine our planting methodologies and strengthen our coordination between OEM, maintenance and our UF partners. We also hope to further our educational outreach on the importance of pollinator habitat and how we can use our ROW to help meet this need.”
Milkweed may be a modest plant, but its impact is anything but small. Through intentional management of right of way, strategic partnerships and a broadened view of transportation landscapes, FDOT is contributing to Florida’s pollinator future in tangible ways.
The work is ongoing. The benefits are cumulative. And as Rach and her team’s work demonstrates, the roadside may be one of the most overlooked and most powerful tools available for environmental stewardship in Florida.
“It’s a shift in how we think about our right of way,” Rach said.
FDOT’s Office of Environmental Management provided a video created in partnership with the University of Florida that highlights some of their work.
Jennifer Marshall, P.E., is the Chief Engineer of Production at the Florida Department of Transportation
