On 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Alabama Power focused on environmental stewardship, protecting natural resources
From its hugely successful Renew Our Rivers cleanups to its work to preserve and create wildlife habitats throughout the state, Alabama Power is committed to environmental stewardship. (Alabama NewsCenter)
While Alabama the Beautiful is a sign that welcomes visitors to our state and those returning home, for Alabama Power it is a call to action. For more than a century, Alabama Power has been committed to environmental stewardship and preserving the natural beauty of the state. From helping preserve habitat for the flattened musk turtle on Smith Lake in northwest Alabama, to the creation of an aquatic reef in Alabama’s coastal waters, Alabama Power and its partners have created initiatives to aid the environment throughout the state.
“Alabama is one of the most ecologically diverse states in the country and we take pride in our efforts to preserve and protect our state’s natural resources and environmental attributes,” said Susan Comensky, vice president of Environmental Affairs. “Through trusted partnerships that enhance our state’s ecosystems and habitats, we are able to strengthen the communities in which we live, work and serve.”
[vimeo 410200619 w=640 h=360]Alabama Power is committed to keeping Alabama beautiful from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Renew Our Rivers
One of the state’s most recognizable and successful environmental initiatives is Renew Our Rivers. Started in 2000 as a cleanup effort on the Coosa River, the program has expanded throughout the Southeast. In Alabama, the company and its partners statewide have collected more than 14 million pounds of trash from the state’s waterways since 2000.
Renew Our Rivers cleanups have removed more than 14 million pounds of trash from Alabama’s waterways in the past 20 years. (file)
Trispot darter fish
In St. Clair County, Alabama Power, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies teamed up to build a stable environment to help the endangered trispot darter fish population rebound. This public-private partnership developed conservation strategies and constructed a bridge to offer passage for the trispot darter and provide an opportunity for the species to be restored in northeast Alabama.
A project in St. Clair County is providing a more stable habitat for the endangered trispot darter. (file)
Pollinators
Alabama Power’s transmission lines provide excellent habitat for hundreds of species of plants that are beneficial for wildlife and pollinators such as the monarch butterfly. Alabama Power is working with Auburn University and the Electric Power Research Institute to promote beneficial vegetation and maintain reliability of the electrical system.
Alabama Power and its partners work to maintain pollinator habitats along its transmission lines. (file)
Red-cockaded woodpecker
Alabama Power manages and protects habitat for the second largest population of red-cockaded woodpeckers on privately owned land in Alabama. In partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and other agencies, the company has helped implement conservation measures and land management activities that benefit this endangered species and move it closer to delisting.
Gopher tortoises
In Mobile County, Alabama Power is studying a conservation area to provide a safe habitat for gopher tortoises, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Alabama Power is working closely with state and federal agencies to develop this conservation area, which will benefit the gopher tortoise and improve the company’s operations.
Aquatic reef
In 2016, two of Alabama Power’s retired boilers were sunk off the coast of Mobile County to improve the marine ecosystem in partnership with the Alabama Wildlife Federation, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Cooper/T. Smith Corp. The steel structures previously used to turn steam into power now foster healthy marine life growth in the Gulf of Mexico, as seen in this video.
A diver swims along an artificial reef created in 2016 using retired Alabama Power boilers. Today the reef is teeming with life. (file)
