PGE Joins a Nationwide Effort to Reduce Bird Electrocutions and Collisions with Power Lines and Equipment
Portland, Ore. - Following a two-year collaborative effort, Portland General Electric (PGE) has adopted an avian protection plan that will help birds avoid electrocutions and collisions with electric utility power lines and equipment. Eagles and other raptors such as hawks and ospreys will benefit the most because they frequently use poles and structures as perches for resting, hunting, roosting or territorial defense, and nesting.
PGE customers also benefit. Bird contact with wires can result in power outages and damaged equipment.
PGE has worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other habitat area managers, including the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, to identify high risk areas and retrofit power lines, power poles and other structures to standards. Initial work is complete at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. Other known high risk areas identified in the plan for action in 2007-2009 include the States Sauvie Wildlife Area and Hillsboros Jackson Bottom Wetland Preserve. PGE has committed up to $100,000 per year thru 2010 to reduce avian risks in the vicinity of these wildlife refuge areas.
"Electrocutions remain a significant cause of mortality and we are pleased that PGE is taking a pro-active approach to address these hazards," said Bob Sallinger, Urban Conservation Director, Audubon Society of Portland. "We commend the completed work at Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and the planned efforts at Sauvie Wildlife Area and Jackson Bottom Wetland Preserve, and we look forward to working with PGE on additional high priority areas."
"We are very happy that PGE is taking bird conservation to heart by adopting this avian protection plan. It will not only help birds, but will help PGEs customers too. We expect that other utilities will follow PGEs example, saving the lives of thousands of raptors and other birds each year," said Ren Lohoefener, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Pacific Region.
"PGEs effort to protect raptors and other birds goes back for more than a decade," said Dave VanBossuyt PGE General Manager of Distribution. "This is a prime example of how environmental protection and cost-effective business practices are compatible. Weve worked as a team with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies to make sure this succeeds."
The recently finalized PGE avian protection plan is a comprehensive approach that includes: using preventative bird-safe methods for newly constructed or rebuilt lines and other electrical equipment in areas with high bird risk; tracking and documenting all bird mortalities and at-risk nests sites so that remedial actions can be identified and fixed; undertaking risk assessments of existing lines and structures; and providing employee training on bird protection issues and procedures.
Bird electrocutions occur when a bird simultaneously touches two conductor wires or one conductor and a ground wire. Large birds such as red-tailed hawks, great-horned owls, ospreys and eagles are the most vulnerable. The number of bird electrocution deaths each year in the United States is estimated at tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands or more, but these are very rough approximations based on limited data.
Concern over these preventable deaths led to the formation of the Avian Powerline Interaction Committee (APLIC) in the mid-1980s by representatives of major utilities, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Audubon Society, and Edison Electric Institute. Since then, APLIC has published and continues to update guidelines on the latest and best ways to prevent collisions and electrocutions, and in 2005 developed the avian protection plan guidelines for utilities to adopt and modify to fit their own programs. With the completion of its plan, PGE has joined a growing list of utilities making a commitment to minimizing the impact of their lines to raptors and other birds.
In Oregon, seven other avian protection plans have been adopted in the past three years, including PacifiCorp in the Klamath Basin (November, 2004); Central Electric Cooperative Incorporated (March 2005); Surprise Valley Electrification Corporation (July, 2005); Harney County Electric Cooperative Incorporated (March 2006); Central Lincoln Peoples Utility District (April 2006); City of Cascade Locks (April 2006); and Consumers Power Incorporated (June 2006). Two more plans are under development: Emerald Peoples Utility District and Tillamook Peoples Utility District. (See map on our web site located at: http://www.fws.gov/pacific/lawenforcement/pdf/avianprotectionplanmap.pdf )
Migratory birds are among our most highly valued natural resources and require regional, national and international conservation programs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conserves and manages the 913 native species and populations of migratory birds, including many raptors, in partnership with others to fulfill international treaty obligations and U.S. trust responsibilities. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is the primary legislation in the United States established to conserve migratory birds. The act prohibits the taking, killing, or possession of migratory birds unless permitted by the Secretary of the Interior. Authorized take and possession is focused on a limited number of allowable activities such as research, rehabilitation, education, depredation control and other purposes. Each bird killed due to electrocution is a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and if an eagle is killed, a violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act as well.
About FWS: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
About PGE: Headquartered in Portland, PGE is a fully integrated electric utility that serves more than 796,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon. Visit PGE on the web at
