Line crews often encounter wildlife while working in the field and constructing and maintaining infrastructure in their service territories. For example, Cooperative Energy in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, discovered a threatened population of gopher tortoises in their rights-of-way (ROW). After applying herbicides and investing in an integrated vegetation management (IVM) program, the utility was able to dramatically increase the population of these tortoises and carpet their ROWs in native grasses and wildflowers.

This article, which was authored by Logan Martin of Corteva Agriscience and Wes Graham and Brad Morris of Cooperative Energy, first appeared in the June 2025 Vegetation Management Supplement. T&D World partners with the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) to publish this supplement each June. If you have an idea for an article for the 2026 Vegetation Management supplement, a comment on this audio story or a suggestion for a future guest for the Line Life Podcast, please email Field Editor Amy Fischbach. I look forward to hearing from you!