Columbia Gas of Kentucky is transforming rights of way into habitats
LEXINGTON—Columbia Gas of Kentucky is introducing a pollinator pilot program aimed at transforming sections of its utility rights of way into habitats for bees and butterflies.
The company is partnering with Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and the Masterson Station Park board of directors, Kentucky American Water, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc. and the University of Kentucky. With their support, it will convert some of its largest and most visible ROW by removing existing vegetation and planting a specialized seed mixture that will grow plants that attract pollinators, such as milkweed, gray goldenrod, baby’s breath and white prairie clover. The utility will apply for certification of the sites as Monarch Waystations, meaning the sites meet criteria to be placed on a worldwide registry of butterfly habitats. The monarch butterfly is currently at risk of becoming endangered.
Brian Kortum, manager of natural resources permitting for Columbia Gas parent company NiSource, told American Gas that the pollinator idea has been brewing for some time. “There’s been a lot of talk about pollinators across the country and in the environmental community. In the vegetation-management world for utilities, we understand we can manage our ROW in a way that’s beneficial to pollinators. Habitat loss is causing decline. We can help.”
Columbia Gas of Kentucky chose sites that are both accessible and visible to the public. “We are trying to develop best-management processes across the system,” Kortum explained. “So, we’re focusing on those sites so we can monitor the growth.”
While creating habitats for bees and butterflies, the project also has another purpose. “The pipelines are below ground. Because of that, you don’t see the pipe; it’s out of sight and out of mind. By managing vegetation and having the area signed and marked, it lets people know there’s something there so they shouldn’t dig,” he said.
The pollinator project launched in March and is progressing as expected. “So far, so good,” Kortum said at press time, “although we have had some challenges with the weather. Hopefully, the seed will be germinating and we’ll have plants flowering by July. But it takes a couple of years to see butterflies. We’ll know if we’re successful in two or three years.”