If you like Hilger’s Gulch and brevity, you’ll love Senate Bill 154. Senator Jason Frerichs (D-1/Wilmot) offers this simple one-line bill:
The Department of Transportation shall utilize native grasses on any new or remodeled state properties as landscape.
In 2015, Governor Dennis Daugaard ordered reseeding Hilger’s Gulch, the park north of the Capitol, to native grasses in order to save money on mowing and watering. The Capitol grounds crew seeded the area last summer:
After two chemical burns in the fall and spring, BOA staff sowed grass seed consisting of Buffalo and Blue Grama throughout the area located inside of the concrete sidewalk. Staff also sowed taller warm season grasses like Needlegrass and Little Bluestem near the bull rushes.
“Although that initial seeding has taken very well, there are barren patches in a few places. Last week we actively reseeded those areas. Evidence of that second planting is already visible,” said Commissioner Jeff Holden.
BOA has planted Prairie Coneflower, Blanket Flower and Hood’s Phlox wildflowers; Sand Cherry, Prairie Rose and Smooth Sumac shrubs; and Apricot trees at the Gulch. The Bureau has also added several Martin houses [Bureau of Administration, press release, 2016.08.17].
When the Governor announced his Hilger’s Gulch project, he said savings could be around $60K a year. Multiply that by six public university campuses, a few dozen DOT depots, and several other state facilities, and perhaps we could get the annual savings up to a million dollars. Hmm, I wonder: will the economic stimulus for seed vendors like Millborn Seeds of Brookings, which provided the Hilger’s Gulch seed, outweigh the the economic depressant of the state buying fewer mower blades?
Senate Transportation hears SB 154 this morning at 8 a.m.
Crab grass in honor of Nelson and Grudz?
This is one of the better ideas coming out of Pierre.
We should be embracing using our native plant species that are drought tolerant for all of our public works. We should let people turn their lawns into rock gardens. It’s silly and irresponsible to keep throwing water down the drain on green grass.
In the long run, it will be better for the environment and for costs.
Bill passed committee 5–2 today:
Aye: Frerichs, Curd, Russell, Stalzer, Otten
Nay: Bolin, Solano.
They amended to replace “grasses” with “plants,” which seems harmless, but then changed the sentence by appending a confusing phrase:
“The Department of Transportation shall utilize native plants on any new or remodeled state properties as landscape on rest area properties to the extent possible.”
Are they trying to limit the project to rest areas, or are they saying they want any new or remodeled state property to be landscaped as rest areas are?
Another example of a quickly written bill that does not need to be a law.
Why create such laws? Is this why we send elected leaders to Pierre?
Let the agencies who manage facilities make these kind of decisions. Obviously the way this bill was written indicates very little thought went into it, but the implications of this law being on the books means potential impact for years and years.
I just do not understand what goes on in Pierre anymore. Yes we the people may have put into law IM#22 and not have known 100% what we passed, but legislators seem to be doing the same thing. How can the legislators criticize the citizens when they are doing the same thing?