ML073240711

Project Wings (Wildlife Incentives for Nongame and Game Species)

ML073240711
Person / Time
Site:	Vogtle
Issue date:	11/05/2007
From:	Two Rivers Resource Conservation & Development Council
To:	Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
NL-07-2097
Download: ML073240711 (1)

Text

PROJECT WINGS (Wildlife Incentives for Nongame and Game Species)

Georgia lands full of trophy bucks, plentiful quail, tu rkey and assorted songbirds. Sounds like a wildlife enthusiasts paradise, doesn't it? Well, it is and that's exactly what the founders of Project WINGS had in mind when this wildlife initiative was launched in 1996.

Brought about by Georgia Power's commitment to expand wildlife habitat and safely manage transmission lands, Wildlife Incentives for Nongame and Game Species (WINGS) has transformed more than 16,800 acres of brush-covered utility right s-of-ways into productive wildlife habitat; a transformation that has not only earned national recognition, but one that has evolved into a government-private sector model that has already been replicated in three other states.

It is the project's simplicity and delivery system that makes it so successful. Utility companies must manage vegetation beneath electrical lines and above buried gas lines. If not managed, tall woody growth and deep rooted plants could quickly disrupt the vast network of transmission corridors that power our homes, businesses and factories. Recognizing this ba sic principle of "service delivery", Georgia Power and the Two Rivers RC&D Council devised a simplis tic approach for awarding grants and providing wildlife planning assistance.

The specifics of the project offer a three-year agreement with individuals to convert idle transmission lands into productive wildlife habitat by following a management plan they select from a menu of

approved wildlife practices. Participants can do the work themselves. Once these wildlife practices are completed, participants then receive individual cash grants up to $1,500. Seed, fertilizer, etc. receipts are not required. Typical management practices include pl anting wildlife foods such as wheat, clover, oats, rye, millets or other cool season mixtures as well as permanent forages like bahia, chufas and lespedezas.

Mowing can also be included in the management, if immediately followed by disking to encourage native forbs, grasses and legumes.

What started as a modest beginning with one utility has now grown into a 2.3 million dollar grant program. Georgia Power and the USDA NRCS are to be applauded for their leadership and commitment to this wildlife enhancement effort. Since 1996, Project Wings grant providers has grown to include three additional utilities. Again, the success of Project WINGS can be attributed to the project's simplistic design as well as the unique private sector-government partnership which continues to serve Georgians and the environment we all share.

Project WINGS (Wildlife Incentives for Nongame and Game Species) 100 Ridley Avenue LaGrange, Georgia 30240 Phone: (706) 885-0101 Fax: (706) 885-0103 E-mail: tworiversrcd@hotmail.com www.tworiversrcd.org