SAFETY… First and Foremost! Training on the proper use and handling of specific products is paramount.  Emphasizing the necessity to remain situationally aware and communicate any potential hazard is critical.  We recommend closed-system handling using a return/refillable container format to reduce applicator exposure.  Everyone involved in any IVM program is responsible for safety, both personal and environmental.

A pillar in any IVM activity! Environmental awareness is built upon product stewardship and understanding where and what particular products fit in any given program, or if they fit at all.  Be knowledgeable about areas where threatened or endangered species are present and communicate management intentions.

Promoting closed-system handling and custom-blending reduces spill potential, guarantees product integrity and drastically limits field-mixing mistakes.  Furthermore, return/refillable containers reduce an environmental footprint through landfill waste reduction.

Public opinion counts. Bring regional/local demographics into your decision making processes.  Understand that the general public pays little attention to a ROW until it becomes unsightly or their power goes out. Whether its left unattended and overgrown, mechanically reclaimed or treated with a herbicide, drastic change draws attention.  Plan treatment timing whenever necessary and remember the slow-to-show options when it comes to herbicide recommendations.  Designate buffer areas in high profile places or near water.  Maintain selectivity through application type and applicator training.

Imperative for cost reduction and inventory control! Pre-planning work flow and ensuring application specific information is transferred in a timely, complete and accurate manner.  Providing just-in-time inventory delivery within close proximity to work areas keeps work productive and reduces unnecessary inventory storage and transport.  Smart logistics are simple activities that benefit each partner in an IVM program and ultimately reduce overall cost.

 

What does success look like? The bigger picture of an IVM program! 
Setting an expectation for long-term ROW conditions is paramount in understanding what IVM activities are providing.  Determining your goals from a larger perspective will allow a focus towards what success actually is.  Reliability, access, habitat, full-width maintenance, aesthetics etc… may all be goals but we must have benchmarks to measure our progress.  Cost/Benefit analysis even in a simple form is a key component.

With sustainable IVM, everybody benefits!  Through the proper implementation of an IVM approach to ROW landscape management, corridors are kept in a perpetual state of early successional habitat.  Rights-of-way traverse through forests, agricultural fields, urban areas, and all other landscape types – they provide the perfect opportunity to create wildlife habitat.  Early successional vegetation conditions, obtained through proper IVM maintenance activities, benefit ROW managers by allowing safe access and un-interrupted power delivery; many species of wildlife, from pollinators to large game animals, benefit from the cover provided and the food source.  Orion IVM was proud to be a sponsor of the first, ROW specific, educational session at the 2018 National Wild Turkey Federation meeting in Nashville, TN.