Stantec, a global leader in design and engineering, has achieved a milestone in developing and implementing habitat programs for Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), an energy delivery company serving northern Illinois.
Stantec and ComEd have worked together for 15 years to manage native prairie habitats primarily within ComEd’s electric transmission rights-of-way. With pollinator populations worldwide in decline, Stantec’s work has helped ComEd expand pollinator habitat for the benefit of native bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Since 2009, Stantec has helped to expand ComEd’s native prairie habitat from only a few acres of actively managed sites to more than 500 acres, including those managed by Stantec and partner groups. These sites include some of the highest ecologically valued habitats in Illinois. Of the more than 40 sites managed by Stantec and community partners, 6 are within designated Illinois Nature Preserves.
ComEd’s native prairie program also engages communities and children. When ComEd began working with the Conservation Foundation to involve local elementary-age children in a pollinator habitat restoration, Stantec helped implement a field-based curriculum that includes nature talks, native plantings, and virtual education programs. ComEd was awarded the 2019 Monarch Sustainer of the Year Award from the Pollinator Partnership, which recognizes a US business showing exceptional leadership and action in providing habitat and awareness for monarch butterflies.
“ComEd has demonstrated early and extraordinary leadership in protecting and increasing pollinator habitat on its transmission rights-of-way,” said Amy Flansburg, Stantec’s ecologist who leads the ComEd pollinator program. “Their commitment to maintaining and restoring this habitat shows we can make a difference together. When we visit these sites, we can document many species benefitting from this critical habitat.”
Since 2012, Stantec has also helped manage more than 15,000 acres of incompatible, woody vegetation along ComEd’s rights-of-way, documenting a significant reduction of species that are unsuitable with transmission lines. Vegetation work is often performed in sensitive environments such as Illinois Nature Preserves, Illinois Natural Area Inventory sites, Critical Habitat Areas, and state and county preserves.
“We’re proud of the work we’ve done to reduce woody vegetation and provide increased service reliability for ComEd’s transmission infrastructure,” said Eric Johnson, Stantec’s senior restoration ecologist who oversees ComEd’s vegetation management work. “We’ve worked to find more efficient methods of vegetation management, reducing our need for herbicide by 50 percent year over year in many instances.”
ComEd maintains more than 5,300 miles of overhead electric lines in its transmission system, crossing prairies, wetlands, forests, agricultural lands, suburban and urban areas, and along highways and railroad corridors. A vital aspect of the company’s environmental commitment is the protection of wildlife habitat and the assurance of biodiversity.
“Our 15-year partnership with Stantec to manage and enhance wildlife habitat on our transmission rights-of-ways has been essential to meeting our environmental goals,” said Neena Hemmady, vice president of projects and contracts at ComEd. “We’re proud that local wildlife, particularly pollinators, have been the beneficiary of our steady focus on environmental stewardship.”
