Endangered and Threatened Species and ROW Vegetation Management

摘要

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, and 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.