Company is working to create 225
pollinator-friendly acres by 2025
GREENSBURG, Pa., July 13,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- While performing work to
strengthen the electric grid in northeastern Pennsylvania, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) has
seeded nearly three acres of right of way along a high-voltage
transmission line in Bradford and
Susquehanna counties with a native
seed mix designed to establish pollinator-friendly habitat.
Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission (MAIT), a FirstEnergy
subsidiary, is currently upgrading a 20-mile segment of the
115-kilovolt transmission line between the East Towanda and North Meshoppen substations, replacing wooden
poles with steel monopoles and installing new, larger wires that
can handle additional demand if other lines in the area are out of
service. The project is expected to be complete in late 2023.
Where a portion of the right of way was cleared to accommodate a
longer span of the line, FirstEnergy seeded the area with a seed
mix featuring native grasses and flowers that will help control
soil erosion while also establishing habitat for small animals and
insects that pollinate plants, such as birds, bats, bees,
butterflies and beetles.
"By integrating a native seed mix into transmission projects
such as this one, we can enhance service reliability for our
customers while also demonstrating our commitment to reduce our
impact on the environment and support the creation of pollinator
habitats across our service territory," said Michael Haines, a FirstEnergy supervisor of
Transmission Construction Vegetation Management who is leading this
effort.
FirstEnergy is working to develop 225 acres of pollinator
habitat across its service territory by 2025, including the
creation of new habitat in transmission right of ways, at its
electric substation properties and at parks and nature preserves.
After beginning with a pilot program in 2020, the company expanded
the initiative within its service territory and is now on pace to
exceed 200 pollinator-friendly acres by the end of this year.
Pollinators help to sustain ecosystems and play a vital role in
helping plants reproduce. In return, the plants produce fruits and
vegetables, prevent soil erosion and increase carbon
sequestration.
Many pollinator populations are in decline due to a loss in
feeding and nesting habitats, according to Pollinator Partnership,
a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and promotion
of pollinators and their ecosystems. Each year, the organization
manages Pollinator Week, an annual celebration in support of
pollinator health that ran from June
19-25 this year.
In early 2020, FirstEnergy's transmission vegetation
management group established a pilot program to find opportunities
to restore work areas following transmission construction projects
with flowering vegetation to develop a pollinator-friendly habitat.
The company worked with a horticulturist in Meadville, Pennsylvania, to develop two seed
mixes with more than 20 flowering species that are native
throughout the six states in which FirstEnergy operates. One of the
mixes contains added grasses that will help it take root along
steep slopes, and both mixes can be used across the company's
service territory.
Additionally, the company seeded 16 acres within a transmission
right of way in Adams County,
Pennsylvania, earlier this year and plans to seed an
additional 10 acres at a transmission line right of way in
Lebanon County later this
year.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving customers in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West
Virginia, Maryland and
New York. The company's
transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of
transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and
on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of pollinator habitat developed by
FirstEnergy are available for download on Flickr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.