New York Power Authority enrolls in national program to conserve monarch butterfly habitat along transmission line corridors

NYPA takes proactive measures to protect monarch species as US Fish and Wildlife Service shares proposal to list monarch as threatened species

New York Power Authority Press Release 

The New York Power Authority has signed a voluntary conservation agreement to proactively maintain habitat for monarch butterflies – a declining species – along rights-of-way under NYPA-owned and operated transmission lines throughout New York. The Power Authority’s enrollment into the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) recognizes the utility’s commitment to take actions that benefit the butterfly species as the federal wildlife organization releases a proposal to list the beloved butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

“The Power Authority is proud to play a role in the preservation of the monarch butterfly species,” NYPA President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said. “Enrolling in this agreement demonstrates NYPA’s commitment to proactive, voluntary support for biodiversity. We’ve long recognized the importance of pollinators in the ecosystem, and have taken this action to ensure our transmission corridors provide a high-quality habitat for monarchs visiting our great state in the summer through the fall.”

NYPA’s application to enroll its ROWs in the Monarch CCAA, which focuses on land managed by utilities and transportation agencies, furthers the creation of a widespread network of land to benefit monarch habitat across the nation.

Populations of monarch butterflies have been declining over many years, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined in 2020 that there is sufficient evidence to justify a listing designation under the Endangered Species Act. As of Dec. 10, the service released a proposal to designate the monarch as a threatened or endangered species. The service is accepting public comments on the proposal until March 12. For more information about the proposal and how to submit public comments, visit https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-12/monarch-butterfly-proposed-endangered-species-act-protection.

The monarch is probably the best known of all migratory butterflies, especially in North America and in New York. After overwintering in the south, it migrates north in the spring and back south again in the fall. It is the only butterfly that makes such a lengthy two-way migration, although no single individual makes the round-trip journey. The migration process involves several generations. In New York, monarchs arrive in mid-May and leave town around mid-October. It relies on milkweek plants to lay its eggs and feed monarch caterpillars.

NYPA is an early adopter of such practices to protect high-quality monarch habitat and has, for decades, employed right-of-way vegetation management practices that enhance wildlife and pollinator habitat. Being enrolled in the CCAA program attests to NYPA surpassing the minimum requirements and following approved practices as it commits to maintaining more than 10,000 acres of monarch habitat on its roughly 1,400 circuit miles of rights of way. NYPA plans to expand its enrollment to include its power generation landholdings and increase the acres of monarch habitat it maintains in the future.

NYPA applies high industry standards for evaluating its sustainable vegetation management techniques and previously received recognition.

NYPA has been accredited by the Right-of-Way Stewardship Council as ROW steward since 2013. This national recognition acknowledges NYPA’s environmental stewardship recognizing excellence in the practice of integrated vegetation management, ensuring safety, security, access and regulatory compliance in an environmentally beneficial, cost-effective manner.

NYPA tracks the quality of pollinator habitat on its rights of way by using field surveys and advanced pollinator scorecards. NYPA uses the tier 3 (i.e. the most detailed) pollinator scorecard developed by the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group to assess pollinator habitat quality on its transmission rights-of-way..

NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 17 generating facilities and more than 1,550 circuit-miles of transmission lines. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn.