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ABSTRACT |
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TITLE: |
Endangered and Threatened Species and ROW Vegetation Management |
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AUTHOR(S): |
Kevin McLoughlin
- kevin.mcloughlin@nypa.com |
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The electric utility industry concern for
those species listed as endangered or threatened found to reside within our transmission
and distribution line rights-of-way (ROW) is twofold; first we often welcome
the fact that our ROW vegetation management practices have created these
unique and valuable habitats that have allowed such "species of
concern" to become a resident of the ROW environs. The basic objective
of ROW vegetation management is to virtually eliminate, to the practical
extent feasible and necessary, all the tall growing trees that could cause
electrical disruptions from the ROW and conversely to facilitate the
development of various low growing plant assemblages. This process, often
referred to as Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM), then may provide
opportunities (new ecological niches) for colonization by various endangered,
threatened, rare, unique or other species of interest or concern within the
confines of the limits of the ROW and/or its area of ecological influence,
i.e., along the immediate ROW edge. The second concern is that due to these
highly developed ROW vegetation management strategies that have promoted the
floristic evolvement of the low growing shrubs, herbs, grasses, ferns, etc.,
the electric industry is now in some instances being "penalized"
for having achieved these milestones in biodiversity in that costly studies,
inventories, surveys, are often requested/mandated when these listed
endangered/threatened species (or even prospective ones) are
"found" or even thought to occur on or close to our ROW. In
addition, when these endangered/threatened species are actually physically
detected on a ROW segment the resultant instantaneous reaction following
their discovery by some members of the environmentally informed public and
even some staff of environmental regulatory agencies is to immediately
request a halt to all ongoing utility ROW vegetation management practices in
the near vicinity of the newly discovered species of concern. This drastic
"rescue" action is believed required to provide the species of
concern needed "protection" and thus "preserve" it’s ROW
habitat from any further undue meddling by the electric utility. This paper
explores the possible ramifications of the Endangered Species Act in regards
to ROW vegetation management as well as some of the resulting potential
consequences of regulatory programs designed to enhance the recovery of
listed, proposed and even candidate species. Keywords: Endangered species, threatened species,
biodiversity, rights-of-way (ROW), vegetation management |
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