“If you build it, they will come.”
No, not baseball legends. We Energies environmental consultant Charlie Nowakowski is referring to ospreys, the once endangered raptors that call Wisconsin home.
Nowakowski and a crew of We Energies line mechanics recently built and installed a 65-foot-tall osprey nest at Zachariah’s Acres, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people with special needs connect with nature.
Fox6 reporter Bret Lemoine was there to capture the moment a former power pole was transformed into a nest and raised into the sky.
“We’re so grateful to We Energies for putting in this osprey pole and the nest,” said Emily Enockson, director of community impact at Zachariah’s Acres. “It’s going to be wonderful to observe while taking nature hikes or ranger rides with our guests, and being here for the installation was really cool.”
Ospreys typically nest in dead trees and sometimes on top of power poles. Nests on power poles are not safe for the raptors and can even cause power outages for We Energies customers.
“By proactively installing alternative nest structures in prime osprey habitats, we’re contributing to the recovery of the raptor’s population in the state and improving reliability,” said Nowakowski.
In fact, We Energies has been completing projects like this one across Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since 1980. Today, there are more than 550 nesting pairs of osprey in 58 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties — up from fewer than 100 nesting pairs in just the northernmost counties in the 1970s.
For Zachariah’s Acres, which serves more than 17,000 people annually, the project is also a one-of-a-kind learning opportunity.
“It’s going to be really cool,” said Enockson. “We’re going to have to do weekly tours, scouting around and seeing if we have a pair up there, and we’re already coming up with names, so fingers crossed!”