Stronger protections are needed for the thousands of miles of electrical power line [transmission] right-of-ways to reclaim owners rights, to promote environmental well-being and habitat for plants, animals and healthy local economies.
Our own property was mowed to the ground without prior notice in 2008. We lost all of our blackberries, raspberries, elderberries and dozens of small Christmas trees. The wildlife suffered.
Three years later we were hit again. This time they cut 56 trees outside the right-of-way. Elderberries were cut along with more than 100 seedling pines planned for an animal shelter windbreak. Our neighbors fared worse, losing four times the trees we did outside the right-of-way.
Good management does not consider all woody vegetation dangerous. It recognizes that a properly managed, diverse plant community of small trees and shrubs can not only protect the electric facility and reduce long-term maintenance, but also enhance wildlife habitat, forest ecology and aesthetic values.
By signing this petition, you will be asking the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to adopt and enforce guidelines, many of which are federally recommended. See http://bit.ly/VegetationManagementPlan for more details.
It is an insult to all of our neighbors and communities who sacrifice their land for the “public good,” when the only recourse to responsible management are horribly expensive, personal lawsuits that are rarely successful. Wisconsin, we can do better.
Lila M. Zastrow, Certified Arborist, International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and Dave Hendrickson
