Big birds. Big nests. Big project.
Recently, Great River Energy transmission construction & maintenance staff finished a project that involved removal of 13 osprey nests from Great River Energy’s 230-kilovolt transmission line that runs east of Brainerd, Minn., in the Crow Wing Power member service area.
Ospreys are large raptors, which can reach two feet in length and have a wing span of six feet or more. When they build their nests (which can be three feet in diameter or larger) on the cross arms of wood transmission line structures, the nests become a hazard to safety and reliability. Fecal matter and moisture builds up and accelerates decay. The decay will eventually cause the arm to drop the wire, possibly causing outages, fires or electrocution if someone is standing nearby. The time was right to get the work done because ospreys migrate to the tropics for the winter and frozen ground makes accessing the nests easier.
|
|
Adam Hinnenkamp (right) and Brent Benjamin (left) build platforms for the osprey nests. |
Although not all of the nests could be saved, Great River Energy worked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on a plan to save and move five of the nests. Crews built special platforms and attached them to structures on the same transmission line, then they carefully moved the nests.
One reason not all of the nests can be saved is that relocations can be costly. “We need to be sensitive to both the future of the osprey and the costs associated with projects like this,” said Roger Kiefer, manager, transmission construction & maintenance.
