Duke Energy to make old towers new home for bald eagles
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Plainfield-based Duke Energy Indiana is giving new purpose to two electric transmission towers that have reached the end of their service life. The utility says the towers will be repurposed as nesting platforms for bald eagles at the Wabashiki Fish & Wildlife Area in West Terre Haute.
Crews have begun stripping inactive electrical lines and equipment from the 50-foot towers before installing the nesting platforms at the top.
Each platform will be eight feet wide and six feet long and made of fiberglass grating and steel supports to accommodate the nests, which Duke says are the largest of any North American bird.
“A lot of hard work has gone into restoring the bald eagle population in Indiana over the last 50 years, and their recovery is one of our state’s great conservation success stories,” said Adam Grossman, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department. “The creation of nesting towers like these have been critical in supporting their survival here, and we’re grateful for partners like Duke Energy that are finding creative ways to support these majestic birds and allow them to thrive right here in West Terre Haute.”
Duke says the project will be completed in early September.
The Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department says it hopes to eventually build a viewing platform at the Dewey Point trailhead to allow visitors to safely observe the bald eagles that may eventually make a home in the new nesting platforms.