The commissioner of natural resources shall conduct a field review of railroad rights-of-way to identify native prairie. The priority will be to identify and conduct a field review of any surveys which have been conducted previously, whether by public or private persons, of native prairies within railroad rights-of-way in this state. In cooperation with railroad companies, the commissioner shall identify management practices used to control vegetation along railroad rights-of-way. The commissioner shall then assess the impact of those management practices on the prairie lands within the railroad rights-of-way. Based on that assessment, the commissioner and railroad companies shall jointly develop voluntary best management practices for prairie lands within railroad rights-of-way. The commissioner shall, to the extent feasible, work with private individuals and groups to cause to be erected markers at either end of each native prairie within a railroad right-of-way.
History:1997 c 216 s 125; 2007 c 57 art 1 s 147