While PennDOT is working on state roadways most of the time, they are continuing with a conservation effort in Indiana County.
The project areas include the intersection of Routes 119 and 286 and the intersection of 119 and 110, where pollination programs are going on. A non-selective herbicide was recently sprayed in those areas as part of the preparation process to put plants in place this fall. This is part of a monarch butterfly and pollinators grant that came from the National Fish and Wildlife Federation awarded by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. The grant will support efforts to help preserve monarch butterfly and other at-risk native insect pollinators. The grant will improve not only the two intersections, but over 150 acres of rights of way in Pennsylvania to provide a habitat for these insects.
Parts of 119 will benefit from this with the addition of milkweed plants and 20 species of native-nectar producing plants and clump-forming grasses for nesting. The plants are expected to attract butterflies, bumblebees and other insects.
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