The Living Snow Fence
Our reusable snow fence. Although so far we have not had a very cold and snowy winter, that can change in the next two or three months. When the snow is piling up, you have your work cut out for you. But it does not only keep you busy, the Highway Department must change gears and start their winter service, often in the middle of the night. They are responsible for keeping our roads drivable and safe.
On our home page you will find two articles about snow fences, one explaining how they work and one how to build a no-tools, reusable one. We put our reusable snow fence up every year around Thanksgiving and dismantle it in April and store it. This fence has helped us to keep one part of our long driveway almost free from snow and has cut down on our “snow work” after a snow storm has dumped a foot of snow or more.
On our home page you will find two articles about snow fences, one explaining how they work and one how to build a no-tools, reusable one. We put our reusable snow fence up every year around Thanksgiving and dismantle it in April and store it. This fence has helped us to keep one part of our long driveway almost free from snow and has cut down on our “snow work” after a snow storm has dumped a foot of snow or more.
I read in the DETROIT LAKES, Minn. newspaper, that the Minnesota Department of Transportation is encouraging farmers to join “the standing cornrows program” to help control blowing and drifting snow on state and federal highways. The Department reimburses farmers on a per acre basis for cornrows on roads that qualify for the program. They show twelve rows of corn left standing parallel to the highway and about half a mile long. If they join the program farmers can expect a compensation of $ 1,000 to $2,000. They can hand pick the corn, but they have to leave the stalks standing.
Of course, our government got involved, too. They realized that winter winds and drifting snow will result in road closures and are not only a safety issue, but also they interrupt business. The Highway Departments have higher costs for road maintenance when they have to plow miles and miles of highway from snow drifts. Plowing can tear up the roads. Equipment failures and repairs, man hours spent plowing and fuel costs, all add add up to a significant hit on the highway budget. So why not use nature to cut costs and help the environment?
There are many ways to interrupt the blowing snow and make it fall down in designated areas, away from the road. Living snow fences, e.g- trees, are doing the job, but they have to be planted up and maintained. That costs time and money. And of course it will take a couple of years until the trees are big enough to be effective. But compared to the costs of freeing miles and miles of highways from drifting snow, the tree program wins.
Standing crops such as corn can work well. Certain bushes or habitat enhancing brush can also be very effective. These kinds of environmental solutions can be a win-win for both the landowner and the municipality. Indeed, all the local taxpayers can be helped by reduced county and town costs.
In areas where water is an issue, properly situated snow fences (either living or manufactured) can impound large quantities of water for later use in a dry summer or for crop irrigation or for ponds with poor water recharging. So snow fences can be used in places other than next to roads, to passively capture water in places that may need more of it in drier times of the year.
The living snow fence is more cost efficient and will provide other benefits. According to a government study, a living snow fence, such as trees, are better at catching blowing snow, even 12 times more effective than a slatted fence. And of course, trees provide a home for birds and attract bees.
In areas where water is an issue, properly situated snow fences (either living or manufactured) can impound large quantities of water for later use in a dry summer or for crop irrigation or for ponds with poor water recharging. So snow fences can be used in places other than next to roads, to passively capture water in places that may need more of it in drier times of the year.
The living snow fence is more cost efficient and will provide other benefits. According to a government study, a living snow fence, such as trees, are better at catching blowing snow, even 12 times more effective than a slatted fence. And of course, trees provide a home for birds and attract bees.
The life expectancy of a tree is 40 to 50 years, whereas a slatted snow fence can be used only 7 to 20 years. On top of that, a slatted snow fence has to be installed, maintained, disassembled and stored. This can be quite a chore for a landowner. Pounding 4 foot long steel posts into rocky ground every ten feet for perhaps hundreds of feet and then rolling out and securing fifty foot/forty pound rolls of fencing is not for any but the fittest person. We still do it for our driveway each year because a living snow fence would interfere with our haying operation in that section. But we made it easier by designing a no-tools, reusable system that we could easily re-install each year in a fraction of the time and effort (see the navigation column on the left of our home page).
But there are drawbacks to some forms of living snow fences. Trees need more space and a bigger portion of the land will be out of producing a harvest. They take effort to get properly established initially for a few years and reach productive density. If they are set back from a long stretch of road, they will likely take the setback and the tree footprint areas permanently out of production for decades. Nevertheless, if there are government programs encouraging or offsetting this loss of revenue, it might be a good alternative. Proper placement for any individual area, is the key.
But there are drawbacks to some forms of living snow fences. Trees need more space and a bigger portion of the land will be out of producing a harvest. They take effort to get properly established initially for a few years and reach productive density. If they are set back from a long stretch of road, they will likely take the setback and the tree footprint areas permanently out of production for decades. Nevertheless, if there are government programs encouraging or offsetting this loss of revenue, it might be a good alternative. Proper placement for any individual area, is the key.
Standing crops that can be cut down in the Spring may be a good alternative to keep production and continue to use the set back areas. Again, there may be existing local agricultural programs to make use of in your plantings.
If no programs exist, it might be a good idea to try to get some going! In our region, the vast majority of County and State roads are bordered by private land, much of them next to large open fields where the winter winds are unimpeded. I remember forty years ago the Highway Departments used to put up snow fences along many stretches of roads where drifting was an acute problem. That practice has seemed to fall out of favor. Whether it is because of shrunken municipal budgets or just an increased reliance on ever bigger equipment, we cannot remember the last Town installed snow fence in our County. The costs of diesel fuel and equipment maintenance are big chunks in any Town budget.
If no programs exist, it might be a good idea to try to get some going! In our region, the vast majority of County and State roads are bordered by private land, much of them next to large open fields where the winter winds are unimpeded. I remember forty years ago the Highway Departments used to put up snow fences along many stretches of roads where drifting was an acute problem. That practice has seemed to fall out of favor. Whether it is because of shrunken municipal budgets or just an increased reliance on ever bigger equipment, we cannot remember the last Town installed snow fence in our County. The costs of diesel fuel and equipment maintenance are big chunks in any Town budget.
Living snow fence programs can make a big dent in these costs over time. They can take the form of tax abatements for acreage used in the program, grants or discounts for planting and maintaining plantings, even government programs designed to encourage certain types of plantings over others. These types of programs can be used to address local issues of habitat loss or biodiversity. They can also be modeled after existing multi-year programs such as the forestry or land management programs we use today.
Considering the pros and cons of a living snow fence, in many instances they can be a clear winner. Their effectiveness is determined by type and placement in each unique spot. Local Agricultural Extension departments will have the information needed to do it well.
Considering the pros and cons of a living snow fence, in many instances they can be a clear winner. Their effectiveness is determined by type and placement in each unique spot. Local Agricultural Extension departments will have the information needed to do it well.
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