ATC

NEW Zoo and ATC Partner to Provide Fresh Tree Trimmings to Animals  

American Transmission Co.’s vegetation management program helps maintain a safe and reliable electric grid for homes and businesses in Wisconsin. Recently, vegetation removed from the electric transmission rights-of-way under the direction of ATC’s certified utility arborists became part of the menu for animals at the Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo & Adventure Park in Green Bay, Wis. 

 “Trees can compromise safety or cause interruptions in electric service if adequate clearances are not maintained,” said Michelle Stokes, vegetation management manager at ATC. “By partnering with the NEW Zoo, we are finding a use for the tree trimmings to enhance the animals’ diets and quality of life, while also providing a better visitor experience.”  

 After ATC and our contractor, Asplundh Tree Expert LLC, delivered a load of fresh, safe and approved tree trimmings to the NEW Zoo, volunteers carefully prepped a selection of leaves for the popular daily Giraffe Feeding Experience. Another portion of the browse was placed inside the giraffe habitat for resident giraffes Zuri and Nigel to enjoy “straight from the branch.” The NEW Zoo’s bison, elk, moose, prairie dogs, pronghorn, white-tailed deer, and domestic goats also received fresh browse. While the penguins don’t eat browse, they received a few branches to play with and to use for their nests. 

Browse – plant material cut for consumption or enrichment – is a crucial element in some animals’ diets because it’s full of nutrition that some herbivores need (e.g., proteins, fats, and amino acids). It also promotes natural behaviors – such as nibbling leaves, stripping bark, and chewing on stems – and helps prevent animals from eating the vegetation that grows within their habitats. 

 “Animals both small and tall are fed the browse, which is spread throughout their habitats to encourage natural foraging behaviors. Zoo visitors who observe this also experience more natural animal behavior,” said Carmen Murach, curator of animals at the NEW Zoo. “Because we don’t have a walk-in refrigerator to store browse, we rely on our zookeepers to cut fresh browse from our own forest when they have time or on deliveries like this one from ATC.” 

 The NEW Zoo & Adventure Park is located 10 miles northwest of downtown Green Bay, within the Brown County Reforestation Camp and the Brown County Parks System. The NEW Zoo & Adventure Park and Brown County Reforestation Camp together function as a 1,560-acre recreational area serving over a half-million visitors each year. The NEW Zoo is one of only seven Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoos in the country that does not receive local or regional tax support for the zoo’s annual operating budget. 

Free ATC Grow Smart® seed packs available at local libraries

Nearly 70 libraries in Brown, Dane, Dickinson, Jefferson, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties are giving away free smooth blue aster and butterfly weed seed packets, while supplies last, courtesy of American Transmission Co.’s Grow Smart® program.

ATC’s Grow Smart® program helps property owners and communities identify low-growing, beautiful vegetation that can be planted in and near transmission line rights-of-way. Trees and shrubs can be an unsafe combination when grown within electric transmission system rights-of-way. The program includes extensive community and public outreach and features horticulturist and gardening expert Melinda Myers.

“We generally give away Grow Smart® seed packets at major garden and lawn shows to encourage people to plant low-growing, native plants under transmission lines,” said Greg Levesque, director of corporate communications, policy and strategy. “Many of these events were cancelled due to the pandemic, so we are giving our remaining inventory to public library systems to help improve pollinator habitat in communities where ATC employees live.”

The seed packets are available at these participating libraries, while supplies last.

• Brown County libraries – Central, East, and Southwest libraries in Green Bay, Kress Family Library in De Pere, Weyers-Hilliard Library in Howard, Ashwaubenon Library, Pulaski Library and Wrightstown Library
• Dane County libraries – Twenty locations and the Dane County Bookmobile.
  • Madison’s Alicia Ashman, Central, Goodman South, Hawthorne, Lakeview, Meadowridge, Monroe Street, Pinney, and Sequoya libraries
  • DeForest Area Public Library, Fitchburg Public Library, E.D. Locke Public Library in McFarland, Middleton Public Library, Oregon Library, Rosemary Garfoot Public Library in Cross Plains, Stoughton Public Library, Sun Prairie Public Library, Verona Public Library, Waunakee Public Library
  • The Dane County Bookmobile makes weekly stops in Dane, Blue Mounds, Brooklyn, Cottage Grove, Mt. Vernon, Paoli, Roxbury, Waubesha Heights in the town of Dunn, Westport, as well as Maple Bluff, Owl Creek Park and Shorewood Hills in Madison.
• Dickinson County libraries – Dickinson County Library in Iron Mountain, the Solomonson Library in Norway, and the North Dickinson Library in Felch.
• Jefferson County libraires – Jefferson Public Library, Karl Junginger Memorial Library in Waterloo and the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library in Whitewater.
• Milwaukee County libraries – Twenty-two city and suburban locations
  • Milwaukee’s downtown Central Library and the Atkinson, Bay View, Center Street, East, Martin Luther King, Good Hope, Mitchell Street, Tippecanoe, Villard Square, Washington Park and Zablocki branches
  • Brown Deer Public Library, Cudahy Family Library, Franklin Public Library, Greenfield Public Library, Hales Corners Public Library, North Shore Library, Oak Creek Public Library, Shorewood Public Library, South Milwaukee Public Library, Wauwatosa Public Library and Whitefish Bay Public Library
• Waukesha County libraries – Big Bend Public Library, Delafield Public Library, Elm Grove Public Library, Alice Baker Memorial Library in Eagle, Menomonee Falls Public Library, Mukwonago Community Library, Muskego Public Library, New Berlin Public Library, Town Hall Library in North Lake, Pewaukee Public Library, Pauline Haass Public Library in Sussex, and Waukesha Public Library

 “Adding just a few native prairie plants to community and residential gardens or landscaping can help pollinators,” said Melinda Myers, ATC Grow Smart® spokesperson and gardening expert. “Wildflowers like purple coneflower, butterfly weed, and smooth blue aster add color to yards and provide food for bees, birds and butterflies. Prairie grasses like little bluestem and prairie dropseed can add interest to landscaping, while also providing food and shelter for pollinators.”

Free garden information for children and adults – ATC and Myers have created several free plant-related resources for both children and adults, including:

• Young Gardener Activities, which includes a journal and three YouTube videos (Bug Hunt, Build a Toad Abode and Create a Pollinator Paradise)
• Tips for starting plants from seeds video by Melinda Myers
• Grow Smart® Pollinator Guide of native plants that can be printed out and taken to local garden centers
• Webinars on a variety of gardening topics presented by Melinda Myers

• • Gardening with Kids!, June 1, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
  • Creating Pollinator Gardens, June 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m. (hosted by Olbrich Botanical Gardens)
  • Strategies for adding native plants to your landscape, June 15, 6:30-7:30 p.m. (hosted by Olbrich Botanical Gardens)

Promoting pollinator habitat – ATC’s own Pollinator Habitat Program encourages planting low-growing, native flowering perennials within the transmission rights-of-way. This type of compatible vegetation can thrive within transmission rights-of-way, making utility corridors ideal for pollinators who benefit from the right-of-way space as a contiguous flight path. Roughly 40% of the more than 10,000 miles of transmission line right-of-way we manage has been identified as suitable pollinator habitat. The four-acre native prairie surrounding ATC’s Pewaukee, Wis., headquarters has been recertified as a native landscape by the Wildlife Habitat Council since 2018.

ATC and Melinda Myers kick off summer Grow Smart gardening series  

The summer growing season is upon us and that means nationally known gardening expert Melinda Myers is promoting planting low-growing, native vegetation as part of our Grow Smart program. This year, we are pleased to continue sponsoring Melinda’s live event appearances and free virtual gardening seminars.

If you or someone you know is looking for some gardening tips and inspiration this summer and fall, register and attend one (or more) of theses live or virtual events. Don’t forget to also check out our Young Gardener Activities  and YouTube video with tips for starting plants from seed.

Live Appearances

Lake Country Virtual Art & Garden Tour, Friday, July 23 (watch for details) – Melinda will tour and interview gardeners who created amazing Pewaukee-area gardens in this Facebook Live event.

Wisconsin State Fair, Aug. 5-15, 2021 – Melinda will be at the We Energies’ Stage (near first and 84^th streets)

Green Bay Botanical Garden’s 25^th Anniversary Birthday Celebration, Sept. 25, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. –  Register for a timed entry into the free event.

Virtual Gardening Seminars
Melinda Myers will provide valuable insight into sustainable gardening topics. Register for one or more! Missed one? Melinda’s seminars are available on demand for a limited time.

Gardening with Kids!, June 1, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Creating Pollinator Gardens, June 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m. (hosted by Olbrich Botanical Gardens)

Strategies for adding native plants to your landscape, June 15, 6:30-7:30 p.m. (hosted by Olbrich Botanical Gardens)

Low growing shrubs and vines to attract and support pollinators, June 22, 6:30-7:30 p.m. (hosted by Olbrich Botanical Gardens)

“Ask the Plant Doctor” question and answer session, July 20, 6:30-7:30 p.m. (hosted by Olbrich Botanical Gardens)

Since 2014, ATC has partnered with Melinda Myers to help landowners learn about compatible vegetation near transmission lines. Trees and shrubs are an important part of the landscape. But trees, shrubs and transmission lines can be an unsafe combination. Transmission lines can sway or sag, and tall or nearby vegetation can compromise the safety and reliability of the electric transmission system. ATC’s Grow Smart program helps property owners and communities identify low-growing, beautiful, native vegetation that can be planted the smart way – a safe distance from transmission line rights-of-way.

Kronenwetter, Marshfield and Stevens Point add trees with help from ATC

Three central Wisconsin municipalities recently increased their tree populations with the help of grants from American Transmission Co.’s Community Planting Program. The program encourages and supports communities in planting trees and vegetation that enhance the local area without compromising the safety and reliability of the electric transmission system.

The Village of Kronenwetter planted 10 trees in its popular Sunset Park. The trees—a mix of greenspire linden, northern catalpa, prairie fire crabapple, starlite crabapple and hackberry—will enhance other planned improvements to the park. They also will provide shade during park events, promote wildlife habitat, and help educate residents about the value of trees and how to care for them.

The City of Marshfield, along with volunteers from the Marshfield Sunrise Rotary Club, planted almost 30 bare root trees near the Marshfield Fairgrounds. The city selected 15 different tree species, including northern red oak and white swamp oak. The trees will enhance aesthetics of the area, increase the diversity of Marshfield’s urban forest, and help create a calming effect to encourage lower traffic speeds in the busy area.

The City of Stevens Point planted 24 fruit trees next to Bukolt Park along the Wisconsin River. The land was recently purchased by the city and the North Central Conservancy Trust and will be part of the roughly 30-mile Green Circle Trail, a hiking and biking trail that loops through the Stevens Point area. Once mature, the trees—a mix of apples, pears, plums and cherries—will provide free fruit for local residents and wildlife. The city plans to use the remaining funding to purchase shade trees for its new Emerson Park, located between the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and the city’s downtown area.

The Community Planting Program and its sister Pollinator Habitat Program are part of ATC’s Grow Smart® initiative, which advocates for and provides suggestions of low-growing, compatible vegetation that can be planted in transmission line rights-of-way. ATC has awarded nearly $500,000  to more than 265 communities and organizations since 2013.

ATC accepts applications from June 1 through Sept. 30. Award recipients are selected and notified by the end of the year. Awards for both programs range from $100 to $5,000. Additional information and program applications can be found at atc-GrowSmart.com.

Advancing careers in vegetation management 

The University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point offers the only professional utility vegetation management certificate program in North America thanks, in part, to the vegetation management team at American Transmission Co.  

 The Utility Arborist Association and Utility Vegetation Management Association developed the Utility Vegetation Management Certificate Program in 2014. The certification includes a college-level training program for middle managers and leaders in utility vegetation management and an industry-recognized professional credential. The program was initially piloted at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology before transitioning to UWSP in early 2020. 

 ATC’s vegetation management team has supported University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point’s Forestry Department for five years, teaching an annual weeklong utility vegetation management course and serving on the UWSP Forestry Advisory Committee for four years.  

 ATC’s involvement has brought greater awareness of the career opportunities available in vegetation management, leading the UWSP College of Natural Resources, Forestry Education and Development Initiative to offer the Utility Vegetation Management Professional Development Program certificate.  

 “ATC’s vegetation management team played a huge role in our decision to offer this certificate,” said Dr. Les Werner, professor and director of the Wisconsin Forestry Center at UWSP. “They made the UWSP faculty see the opportunities for students to have a rewarding career in utility vegetation management. Without that introduction, we would probably have taken on the certificate, but we would have been at a disadvantage of what it would take to implement it.” 

 Demand for vegetation management drove need for certificate 

While job growth in the arboricultural industry is expected to increase by 7% over the next five years, the opportunities in utility vegetation management are currently limitless. There are three main reasons for this demand – changes in FERC/NERC regulations impacting management of vegetation on transmission line rights-of-ways, regional challenges such as emerging tree pests like the emerald ash borer and managing within fire- prone areas, and the public’s decreasing tolerance for power interruptions.   

“We’re very excited about the utility vegetation management certificate,” said Philip Charlton, president, Utility Arborist Association. “The certificate will better prepare people to be managers and help distinguish them from their peers. We also wanted to give tree workers an opportunity to have a career path to move out of the tree and into management, even without a college degree.” 

 Comprehensive program provides needed skills and knowledge 

The comprehensive training program is designed and facilitated by industry professionals, who provide the knowledge and skills needed to plan and manage sustainable utility vegetation management programs. The certificate is earned by completing six, 12-week courses that are project-based and 100% online. Participants range from tree workers to tree company executives. 

 Courses are designed to enhance the understanding and application of the industry’s best practices including safety, integrated vegetation management, environmental stewardship, and sustainability.  

 Completion of the certificate program is an avenue to being recognized by the industry as a Certified Utility Vegetation Management Professional by the UAA. 

 The intensive, two-year program was first offered by UWSP in April 2020 with 25 participants. There was so much interest that UWSP offered another course in May 2020 for an additional 25 participants. In September 2020, 50 people enrolled and 54 people enrolled in January 2021. The first UWSP class will graduate in early 2022.  

 Roughly 20 people were certified as part of the initial Southern Alberta Institute of Technology pilot.