Living Snow Fences: Safer Roads, Healthy Farms, Happy Neighbours
To learn more about the program, click here.
OTTAWA, ON (February 2025) – Ottawa drivers are no strangers to blowing and drifting snow, especially on rural roads. Winter winds can push deep snowdrifts from open fields onto roads and highways, creating hazardous driving conditions.
This is also a challenge for the City: plows can’t keep up during windy conditions, and temporary slat fencing is time consuming and expensive to install.
Living snow fences offer an innovative, cost-effective solution. Rows of trees or shrubs are planted parallel to the road to create an effective, long-lasting natural wind barrier, which allows drifting snow to settle in the field instead of on the road.
Unlike temporary slat fencing, living fences are beneficial year-round. Not only will they keep snowdrifts off the road for decades to come, they’ll also prevent soil erosion, improve crop yields, and even provide critical habitat and shelter for local wildlife.
Pilot Project: Financial and Technical Support Available for Landowners
The City of Ottawa, in partnership with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA), is launching a pilot project to install living snow fences on three Ottawa farm properties—at no cost to the landowners.
Participating landowners will receive:
✅$700 per acre per year for the area set aside for the living snow fence
✅Free site visits, planting, survival assessments, refill planting, and maintenance for five years
✅A choice of three windbreak designs, customized for their site conditions
RVCA staff will provide the materials and labour. The landowner must simply commit to keeping the living snow fence in place for a minimum of 10 years.
If you’re interested or want to know more, please contact RVCA Forestry Manager Ian Cochrane at ian.cochrane@rvca.ca or 613-692-3571 ext. 1175. To learn more about the RVCA’s tree planting programs visit www.rvca.ca/stewardship-grants/explore.
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Keep your neighbours safe and your soil secure! Plant a living snow fence for decades of protection.