Benton County Integrated Roadside Management

03/25/2026

🐝Adopt-A-Prairie Update 🦋

We have reached our limit for Adopt-A-Prairie Applications that we are accepting for the 2026 season due to popular demand.

We will begin accepting applications for our 2027 season January 4th, 2027.

Thank you for all of the interest and participation in this new program! We are looking forward to improving habitat diversity in Benton County!

03/11/2026

🐝The Adopt-A-Prairie program recently hit the spotlight, with local news outlets buzzing about the community's enthusiasm for saving our prairies.

💪By building partnerships, the Adopt-A-Prairie program hopes to ensure the long-term sustainability of these vital ecosystems.

👀Check it out!

As much of Iowa's landscape is dominated by row crops, some eastern Iowa counties are working to restore native prairie plants along rural roadsides.Benton Coun

03/02/2026

🌼 Introducing Adopt-a-Prairie in Benton County! 🌼

Ever wished the roadside next to your property was full of wildflowers instead of fescue or smooth brome?

Now it can be.

Benton County’s new Adopt-a-Prairie program allows rural residents to apply to have native prairie plants established along the roadside bordering their property.

🌱 More pollinator habitat
🌾 Beautiful blooms across the seasons
🚜 Reduced mowing over time
💚 A win for residents and a win for conservation

We’re excited to kick this program off and see more native prairie across Benton County!

Learn more and apply here:
🔗 https://www.bentoncountyia.gov/integrated_roadside_management/adoptaprairie/

Let’s grow something beautiful together.

03/31/2025

Burning photo dump from March. In total Benton County IRM was able to burn 10.5 acres of ROW and assist Conservation with another almost 13 acres of their properties they manage.

03/12/2025

The hydroseeder didn’t get a very long nap this winter. It was last out on New Year’s Eve and it was back at it again today. Not too bad for winter in Iowa.

02/12/2025

The crew has been out helping the Secondary Roads Department most of the last few weeks clearing low hanging trees and further increasing visibility at intersections.

12/31/2024

Benton County Roadside Management, home of the world’s largest Chia Pet.

We did our best to squeeze one last day out of the hydro seeding season. Got a lot of seed and mulch in the ditch today, but maybe not 100% of it…….

12/23/2024

Today Santa delivered hydroseed and native plants all around Benton County

12/05/2024

Fire and Ice

11/19/2024

Friday we took advantage of some decent burning conditions. We are trying to focus on areas where the native vegetation is needing some help to outcompete the Brome and Reed Canary grass. Hopefully there will be some more burn days this fall/winter

10/23/2024

Does anyone know what type of tree fungus this is? Wait, that’s just hydro mulch!

The crew helped out at Wildcat yesterday hydro seeding some areas that got reworked around some campsites.

10/09/2024

We have started trimming up trees at intersections that had minimal visibility. Here are a few before and after comparisons to see just how much a few branches can cause issues.