How utility right-of-ways became a key habitat for native plants
People may view electric transmission lines that cut through hills and forests as an eyesore. But environmentalists are finding these right-of-ways can provide a safe haven for threatened wildlife — including pollinators that are essential for food supplies.
For the past five years, Ameren Illinois has teamed up with the conservation nonprofit Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever to plant native vegetation on 175 acres of rural right-of-ways.
Typically, utility companies are risk-averse. Utilities that let vegetation get out of control in right-of-ways can face fines of up to $1 million — but Ameren Illinois sees the pollinator program as a win-win.
“We have about 43,700 square miles within our service territory,” Rick Johnson, Ameren’s vegetation manager, said on Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air. “That's a really large footprint, and we just really want to protect that biodiversity wherever we can.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-04-06/how-utility-right-of-ways-became-a-key-habitat-for-native-plants