{"id":502182,"date":"2022-04-27T07:50:06","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T14:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=502182"},"modified":"2022-05-10T08:27:44","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T15:27:44","slug":"illinois-utility-transforms-hundreds-of-acres-into-pollinator-habitat","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/illinois-utility-transforms-hundreds-of-acres-into-pollinator-habitat","title":{"rendered":"Illinois Utility Transforms Hundreds of Acres into Pollinator Habitat"},"author":671,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[57842],"tags":[365262,323572,478342,477262],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[478292],"esri_blog_department":[478202],"class_list":["post-502182","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-utilities-2","tag-electric-utility","tag-habitat","tag-integrated-vegetation-management","tag-pollinators","esri-blog-category-energy","esri_blog_department-infrastructure"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"ComEd uses GIS to conduct integrated vegetation management to return land to native prairie habitats to support the monarch butterfly.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"The alarming rate of global\u00a0pollinator\u00a0decline has made\u00a0habitat restoration a conservation priority, and ComEd has been a longtime leader in doing its part by preserving native prairie habitats around its transmission lines.\r\n\r\n<strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The utility\u2019s work to restore native prairie vegetation for pollinators and wildlife is guided by maps.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Vegetation management crews use GIS to identify sensitive habitat and collect conservation data.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The utility carefully mapped the removal of transmission lines to steer clear of habitat belonging to an endangered dragonfly.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Electric transmission lines in northern Illinois cut through the Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve, one of the few remaining habitats of the endangered Hines emerald dragonfly. This rare insect stays underground for its first five years of life, making it particularly vulnerable to changes on the land above. To keep utility maintenance from harming the dragonfly, staff at Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) carefully crafted a habitat conservation plan that included the use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/mapping\/smart-mapping\">smart maps<\/a> to remove lines to avoid conducting maintenance in sensitive areas.\r\n\r\nAvoiding land that the Hines emerald dragonfly occupies helps the utility as well\u2014eliminating the cost of complying with the strict protocols of the Endangered Species Act while simplifying land management.\r\n\r\nComEd\u2019s conservation efforts serve as an example of how organizations can use technology to be both profitable and sustainable.\r\n<h3><strong>Protecting Prairies and Pollinators<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nComEd\u2019s commitment to preserving habitat dates back to 1994, when the utility began planting prairie wildflowers and grasses, transforming hundreds of acres of land into native habitat. The restored prairie benefits local pollinators and other wildlife, while the plants\u2019 longer roots aid in resilience against drought and flood, increasing carbon sequestration and stormwater detention."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[506962,502222]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In 2017, ComEd\u2019s maps, loaded with data on utility assets and dragonfly habitat, supported an effort to relocate some of the company\u2019s electric transmission towers. Guided by maps made with geographic information system (GIS) technology, the move was performed carefully during the insects\u2019 dormant season, and heavy cables were prevented from striking the ground where larvae rested.\r\n\r\nGiven its pioneering conservation practices, ComEd has become a key collaborator with the <a href=\"https:\/\/rightofway.erc.uic.edu\/\">Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group,<\/a> reaching across industries and organizations in North America to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/mapping-to-save-monarchs\/\">turn rights-of-way corridors into pollinator habitat<\/a>.\r\n\r\nThe working group teamed up with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the threatened monarch butterfly species through a <a href=\"https:\/\/rightofway.erc.uic.edu\/national-monarch-ccaa\/\">Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances<\/a> (CCAA). ComEd and more than 30 other organizations have signed the CCAA. Many of these companies share information on habitat areas they maintain to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rightofway.erc.uic.edu\/geospatial-database\/\">Rights-of-Way as Habitat Geospatial Database<\/a>\u00a0and gains access to GIS tools for assessing sensitive areas. The data rolls into a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rowhwg.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/dashboards\/acdb52bb1f274f1498fcb5b0fb3ed74b\">public dashboard<\/a>\u00a0that tallies participants and tracks new pollinator habitat being created."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":507012,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ComEd_Territory_CCAA-Monitoring.png"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"For the monarch butterfly, the key plant is milkweed. ComEd\u2019s program engages community groups that gather seeds and the company hires contractors to plant them. More than two million milkweed seeds have been planted along rights-of-way corridors to meet ComEd\u2019s pledge to convert more than 11,700 acres into high-value habitat for the monarch. ComEd managers use GIS to plan this work and then monitor impact on pollinators and other wildlife.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe have standards, we have metrics, we have monitoring,\u201d said Sara Race, principal environmental program manager at ComEd. \u201cWe use GIS to understand where there are opportunities for prairie restoration and to prioritize projects.\u201d\r\n<h3><strong>Focusing on Vegetation Management<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nIt takes time and patient management practices to turn land into high-quality pollinator habitat.\r\n\r\nAt ComEd, vegetation management crews have made this work part of their ongoing efforts to keep the company\u2019s 43,000 miles of power lines clear from trees and tall shrubs\u2014reducing outages and fire hazards. The utility\u2019s GIS maps track which rights-of-way corridors are transitioning to native plants and which are candidates for conversion.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe have an annual inspection program to look at every span of transmission and make sure there\u2019s nothing growing past our limits,\u201d said Tom Ringhofer, manager of transmission vegetation management at ComEd.\r\n\r\nVegetation management teams collaborate closely with environmental restoration teams, using GIS to share data and communicate. Ringhofer says maintenance crews consult GIS maps to avoid endangered species and spot protected areas where they can\u2019t apply herbicide. \u201cEverything is marked in GIS so that our crews know exactly where they can and can\u2019t go,\u201d he said."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[506992,506982]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Ringhofer and his crews identify and clear invasive species\u2014such as buckthorn and swamp willow\u2014that grow too-tall thickets. Most recently, they have encountered the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenvilleonline.com\/story\/news\/2019\/02\/27\/curse-bradford-pear-trees-what-you-should-know\/2994154002\/\">Bradford pear<\/a>, which has a weak branch structure and typically topples within 20 years. Clearing nuisance or hazardous vegetation gives native plants and animals room to grow. An area recently cleared of buckthorn saw the return of wild indigo, wild bergamot, cup plant, and black-eyed Susan.\r\n\r\nLately, ComEd inspectors have been counting milkweed stems to see how many of those pollinator plants have taken hold, and then uploading their findings to the GIS. They also look for eagles' nests, Blanding\u2019s turtles, rusty patched bumblebees, and any other rare or endangered species.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe're definitely seeing more diverse habitats and species on our rights-of-ways, including turtles.\u201d Ringhofer said.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRead more about how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/electric\/overview\">GIS is applied at electric utilities.<\/a>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Center","content":"<h2><strong>Environmental Due Diligence<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nCommitted to balancing the needs of the environment with the company's workforce and operations, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) combines many data layers within GIS to create maintenance plans to convey to stakeholders how it will safely conduct its maintenance work.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe use GIS to create exhibits every day regarding wetlands or wetland buffers, floodplain and floodways, endangered species, and protected sites,\u201d said Sara Race, principal environmental program manager at ComEd.\r\n\r\nGIS is the system of record for due diligence risk data, combining knowledge about conditions on the ground and the practices to follow to minimize environmental disturbance. This information is then conveyed to regulatory agencies and field crews, including any industrial hygiene practices to ensure worker safety when a project involves a site where there may have been contamination in the past. There are many steps that precede each project, including taking soil samples.\r\n\r\n\u201cLast year, we worked with a consultant to collect public datasets and combined them with data we had to create a risk layer of potential known contamination or risk,\u201d Race said. \u201cWe review public records and talk to landowners to ensure our workers understand the risk when performing their work.\u201d","snippet":""}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Illinois Utility Transforms Hundreds of Acres into Pollinator Habitat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ComEd uses GIS to conduct integrated vegetation management to return land to native prairie habitats to support the monarch butterfly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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