MN-DOT could *not* require permits to mow or cut hay in ditches through April of 2018, under a bill the state Senate passed Thursday. Minneapolis Democrat Scott Dibble objected, “We’ve been looking to these stretches… as a means of bolstering our habitat.” He added lawmakers are “well aware of… pollinator issues.” Elbow Lake Republican Torrey Westrom responded people like to keep their lawn mowed, weeds down, and looking nice. Westrom says, “They don’t want to have to get a permit every time they’re gonna mow their lawn and they happen to mow the road ditch.”
The House author of the bill, Representative Chris Swedzinski from Ghent, says everyone cares about roadside habitat for wildlife but “this kind of agency overreach needs to be held in check.”
More detail in this excerpt from Dibble’s speech on the Senate floor:
And part of Westrom’s speech: