NiSource : Birds, Bees and Butterflies – How We’re Helping Pollinators Thrive

It takes a lot of ground to reliably carry energy to homes and businesses. NiSource's pipelines and electric infrastructure cross tens of thousands of miles and all kinds of terrain.

Safety requirements in the rights-of-way surrounding this infrastructure call for low-growing vegetation. Accomplishing this typically has been met by regular mowing and using herbicides to keep growth down. Habitat type was not necessarily top-of-mind.

Not anymore. NiSource is among a growing chorus of utilities committed to transforming rights-of-way into pollinator habitats, planting grasses and native wildflowers that attract important wildlife like monarch butterflies, bees and hummingbirds at a time when their populations are falling.

We're rolling out right-of-way pollinator habitats to provide enhanced environmental benefits and to keep maintenance costs down - all while continuing to provide safe and accessible rights-of-way.

'Not only does this help with cost and safety, but it helps forge stronger bonds with the community, customers and our natural world,' said Kelly Carmichael, VP environmental.

Some of our first pollinator sites are in the Lexington, Kentucky, area, where a team led by Survey and Land Leader Tony Tipton has partnered with groups including Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc. and the University of Kentucky to convert some of its largest and most visible rights-of-way into specialized pollinator habitats. The sites have been certified as Monarch Waystations, placing them on a worldwide registry of butterfly habitats.

The value of pollinators

Pollinators carry pollen to fertilize plants, and are vital to a healthy ecosystem. About 1,000 plants used in food, beverages, fibers, spices and medicines need pollination to produce the goods on which we depend, according to the Pollinator Partnership, the nonprofit putting on the National Pollinator Week that begins today.

But habitat loss has led to the decline of many pollinator species, including the monarch butterfly. When these animals are threatened, others that depend on the plants they pollinate are threatened, too.