The White House Plan to Save the Monarch Butterfly: Build a Butterfly Highway

[bigtree]

2. I think this is an excellent idea

...not that it will be a sure-fire cure for what ails the butterfly population, but I've seen some very positive effects of deliberate wildflower cultivation on roads in my state which is beneficial for a number of reasons.

Incidentally, Lady Bird Johnson was a visionary in interstate highway planting...

Today, perhaps most people think of Lady Bird Johnson as the reason why we see wildflowers blooming along the nation's highways and fewer junkyards and billboards. The Beautification Act of 1965 was one tangible result of Mrs. Johnson's campaign for national beautification. Known as "Lady Bird's Bill" because of her active support, the legislation called for control of outdoor advertising, including removal of certain types of signs along the nation's Interstate system and the existing federal-aid primary system. It also required certain junkyards along Interstate or primary highways to be removed or screened and encouraged scenic enhancement and roadside development.

It is part of that legacy that today the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 requires that at least 0.25 of 1 percent of funds expended for landscaping projects in the highway system be used to plant native flowers, plants and trees.

http://www.wildflower.org/environmental_first_lady/