Transcript Slide 1

Giving Birth to
Living Snow Fences
Richard Straight – USDA National Agroforestry Center
a partnership of the USDA Forest Service & NRCS
10/5/05
2005 Living Snowfence Workshop - Spokane, WA
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Structural
snow fences
have a long
history of use…
and abuse.
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2005 Living Snowfence Workshop - Spokane, WA
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Giving New Life to Old Snow Fences
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Living Snowfence
• Designed plantings of trees, shrubs
and/or native grasses planted at
critical locations along roads or
around portions of communities
and farmsteads.
• The purpose is to create a vegetative
barrier that traps and controls
blowing and drifting snow.
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Blowing Snow on Roadways:
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Snow Drifting on Roadways:
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Standing Corn in Winter:
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65% density
30% density
No Snow Drift
Effects of Density on Snow Drifting
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Noticeable
Snow Drift
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Growth
Stages
Drift Growth
first
second
third
fourth
fifth
sixth
seventh
Wind
Direction
-15 H
0
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3H
15 H
20 H
2005 Living Snowfence Workshop - Spokane, WA
30 H
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1 Row East West,
proper setbacks from east and
south roads
200’
200’
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Problem Drifts
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Problem
Drift Fix
Space for
end rows
250’+
250’+
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“Snow Fence”
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Problem
Drift Fix
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Nebraska LSF Program
•Program began with a
local Natural Resources
District in the mid 1970s
•Utilized state wildlife
habitat funds
•County road
departments
•State highway
departments
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LSF Habitat Program
Costs per Mile
Planting Stock
$0
Tree Planting
$924
Site Preparation
$0
Weed Control, in row
$279
Weed Control, between row
$228
Fence Construction
$1,365
Total $/mile
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$2,796
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Slatted Snow Fence
Costs per mile
Material
$3,517
Labor
$1,995
Equipment
$ 884
Total cost/mi $6,396
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Costs per Mile per Year
Living
No Habitat Program
$7,114/mi 50 yrs = $142
Habitat Program
$2,796/mi 50 yrs = $56
Slatted
$6,396/mi 5 yrs = $1,297
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Colorado Interagency
Living Snow Fence Program
•Began in 1982
•Involved DOT,
DNR, Forest
Service, Soil
Conservation
Board,
Landowners
• Primarily on
state highways
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New York LSF
•Partnership of NYDOT, SWCD, NRCS
•Utilizes willow trees and shrubs
•Fast growth
•Many species and varieties for many
different site conditions
•Biomass production
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Beneficial Willow Characteristics
• Rapid height growth
– Can reach 15 ft or more in three to
four years
– Can be effective in as little as two
years
• Maintains good density from the
ground to the top of the crown
• Once established maintenance
is minimal
Measuring optical porosity
on a living willow snowfence
in Cortland County, NY
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Iowa – Pheasants Forever
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MN & ND LSF Programs
•Focuses strongly on snow removal
costs
•Winter of 1996-97 was a major
impetus
•Utilizes FEMA dollars for disaster
prevention
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The Costs of Snow Removal
(Minnesota)
• 1992-1995 - State, County &
Township budgets for snow
removal averaged:
……….$113.5 million/year.
• 1996-97 - Winter Season - Snow
Removal Costs exceeded:
……….$220 million/year..
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Example: Redwood Falls •An 8 foot tall row of shrubs
•Planted 544 feet
•Collected over 21 tons of snow per
lineal foot or over 11,400 tons of
snow
•With the cost of snow removal at
$3.00 per ton
•This living snow fence saves over
$34,000 of snow removal expense.
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Benefits:
•Snow / Wind Protection to
communities, farmsteads and
roadways.
•Crop Protection & Yield
Increases
•Rural Beautification
•Wildlife Habitat
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LSF: Protecting more than roads.
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Environmental Benefits
• Create bird habitat
– Over 35 species of birds have
been found nesting or visiting
willow biomass crops
• Early source of nectar for
bees
• Reduced use of fossil fuels
and salt for snow removal
Wood thrush nesting in willow • Carbon sequestration above
and below ground in living
hedges
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Living Snowfence Benefits
• Snowfences reduce snow
removal costs by 30 –
50%
• Improved visibility and
road conditions
• Safety benefits and
additional cost saving by
reducing accidents
Blowing snow creates hazardous
• Reduce road closures
conditions and increases snow
and associated costs
removal costs.
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Living Snowfences
• Effectiveness of
living snowfences is
determined by
– Optical porosity
– Height
• Both characteristics
are easily
manipulated by
selecting certain
species and
manipulating spacing
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Living Snowfence Benefits
• Living snowfences
should be at the high
end of the cost:benefit
ratio range
• Secondary benefits
such as wildlife
habitat, aesthetic
appeal, carbon
storage
Five year old willow living
snowfence in Cortland
County, NY.
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Living Snowfence Benefits
• Economic cost:benefit
ratio of structural snow
fences is 1:2 – 1:30
• Cost:benefit ratio of living
snowfences is 1:6 to 1:80
due to
Willow living snowfence
established in 1993 in
Cortland County, NY.
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–
–
–
–
reduced installation costs
lower maintenance costs
longer lifespan
greater snow storage
capacity
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Living Snow Fences
are very Ful-filling
•fill conservation needs
•fill economic needs
•fill environmental needs
•fill safety needs
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