Endangered Reptiles Pose Challenges For Power Line Replacement Project

Old power lines could soon be replaced in southwest Wisconsin and officials are trying to reduce any potential harm to endangered species as a result of the construction.

The Dairyland Power Cooperative transmission line running through Trempealeau and La Crosse counties was built in 1950. The line has experienced a number of outages over the last few years and the company says it’s time to replace it.

The 13-mile Marshland to Briggs Road Transmission Project would rebuild the 161-kV lines with single, steel poles, with construction expected to cost around $9 million.

If the project is federally approved, construction would take place in the Black River bottoms, home to the endangered massasauga rattlesnake and the threatened wood turtle.

The state Department of Natural Resources has proposed an incidental take permit, which says some of those animals could be killed, but the overall population will not be at risk.

People can comment on the permit through August 12th.

Dairyland Power project manager Chuck Thompson said they’re doing everything to avoid hurting the reptiles during construction.

“We have monitors that actually walk in front of the vehicles and they sweep the area to make sure we don’t run them over,” said Thompson. “If you do find them, we want the biological person to pick up and move the snake. Yeah, our linemen don’t want to touch the snakes.”

Dairyland Power plans on rebuilding habitat for the reptiles when construction is complete.

The line also travels through part of the Upper Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Refuge, which is a seasonal home to about 20 rare, migratory birds. They’re expected to be gone by the time construction begins.

During the rebuild, Dairyland Power is eliminating half the transmission line poles that had run through the Refuge. Thompson said it’ll reduce the permanent impact. He said the poles will be shorter or as tall as the trees, to reduce the impact to migratory birds.

Dairyland Power hopes to construction can begin in August. Workers will take apart the old line after the nearby CapX2020 major transmission line is energized this fall. The company hopes to wrap up construction by the end of the year.