[Pollinator] NAPPC Pollinator Advocate Awardee - Co-op Honored for Species Protection

[Ladadams at aol.com]

>From Today's ECT-COOP
_Environmental Stewardship_ 
(http://www.ect.coop/category/efficiency-conservation/environmental-stewardship) 
Co-op Honored for Species Protection
By Victoria A. Rocha  | ECT Staff Writer Published: January 5th, 2012  
 
As director of maintenance services at EnergyUnited, Jimmy Brown  has 
defended Earth’s smallest creatures along the Statesville, N.C., electric  
cooperative’s rights of way. 
 (http://www.ect.coop/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jimmyaward.jpgrs_.jpg)  
Jimmy Brown with Pollinator Partnership’s Victoria  Wojcik with an award 
recognizing his preservation work. (Photo By: Natasha  Suber)
 
 
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Recently, Brown’s efforts to create safe havens for bees, butterflies and  
other pollinators earned him international recognition and first-time honors 
for  any utility from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, a 
project of  the national Pollinator Partnership. 
Brown was one of five honored with the 2011 Pollinator Advocate Award in a  
ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. 
Brown’s longtime work includes creating a network of habitat spanning more  
than 1,000 miles, locating and preserving three federally endangered 
flowers,  and convincing the co-op to hold conferences on the issue with other 
wildlife  groups. 
“The work that can be done on utility rights of way is stunning for  
wildlife,” said Victoria Wojcik, associate program manager at the San  
Francisco-based partnership. “So when someone steps forward and puts their toe  in the 
water, we want to be sure and shine a light on them.” 
Brown and his three-person crew at _EnergyUnited_ 
(http://www.energyunited.com/)  have  relied on herbicides to remove undesirable species of trees and 
allow the native  grasses, forbs, shrubs and vines to flourish in the 
rights of way corridor. 
“Utilities normally protect rights of way through mowing,” or 
bush-hogging,  Brown explained. “But the problem is that when you mow, you never see 
what grows  underneath. With herbicides, you can be more selective and target 
unwanted  species that shade out the grass and prevent other plants and seeds 
from  growing. 
“Our goal is to provide safe and reliable electric service to members, 
while  making sure that we’re trying to protect the environment and enhance 
wildlife,”  Brown continued. “The integrated vegetation management program at 
Energy United  has created wins environmentally in the local community and 
for our  members.” 
Besides the Pollinator Partnership award, which stemmed from nine 
nominations  from co-op and state wildlife personnel, Brown has received other 
habitat  restoration and stewardship awards, including one from the governor in 
2007. 
EnergyUnited and the partnership are considering a project to protect the  
East Coast migratory route of monarch butterflies, said Wojcik. “There’s 
heavy  habitat loss in the migration corridor, which is causing the 
butterflies to  change direction.” 
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Tags: _Environmental Stewardship_ 
(http://www.ect.coop/tag/environmental-stewardship) , _Local  Initiatives_ 
(http://www.ect.coop/tag/local-initiatives) 
 
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