We Energies, in coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), recently installed an osprey nest platform on WDNR-owned property adjacent to the Rat River in the town of Wolf River. The area has a healthy osprey population, and crews had to remove three nests within a 1-mile radius from atop the company’s live electric distribution lines in 2023.
In addition to the new nest platform, We Energies modified the existing electric support structures in the vicinity, changing the double cross arm structures out for structures with single or no cross arms. These modifications will further deter osprey from nesting on energized lines, which poses a risk of unplanned outages and imminent hazard to ospreys.
By providing safe, alternative nesting sites, such as the platform installed near the Rat River, We Energies is making a significant difference in the population recovery for the ospreys.
Since 1980, We Energies field crews have constructed and erected alternative nest structures for osprey breeding pairs in key habitat throughout Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, significantly contributing to the recovery of the osprey population.
Today, there are more than 550 nesting pairs in 58 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties — up from fewer than 100 nesting pairs in just the northernmost counties in the 1970s.
