As FirstEnergy’s in-house avian expert, Amy Ruszala knows it’s important for the company to help protect the growing osprey population in our service territory by providing alternate nesting locations away from energized equipment. She sees Potomac Edison’s recent donation of a utility pole for a new nesting platform at Jennings Randolph Lake – spanning the West Virginia-Maryland border – as a prime example of our efforts.

“Donating materials and helping to install platforms like the one at Jennings Randolph Lake will hopefully train generations of osprey that the area around the lake is a safe place to nest,” explained Amy, an advanced scientist. “Anything we can do to help discourage the birds from building their homes on electric transmission towers and poles with energized electrical equipment will allow their population to thrive for years to come.”

Three line workers from the Fort Ashby (W.Va.) Service Center set the 30-foot pole and installed the nesting platform, which was designed and built by a local contractor. The project started when Francesca Gullion, a park ranger and natural resources specialist for Jennings Randolph Lake, reached out to some friends at Fort Ashby to share plans for a new overlook being developed along the Sarbanes River Access Trail.

In addition to providing a great view of the recently installed nesting platform, the overlook will include benches, a split-rail fence, spotting scope and some informational boards on birds of prey. Although it may take a year or more for ospreys to utilize the new nesting platform, Francesca said a female osprey has already flown over the platform to give it a closer look.

“We have a pair of nesting ospreys in the area, and it’s our goal to have them use this platform for nesting in the future,” said Fancesca. “It will be a safe location for them, and the overlook will help enhance the trail experience for our visitors.”

Amy added that the recent rollout of a new app – designed exclusively for FirstEnergy – enables employees to report avian issues and has helped to increase awareness of our efforts to protect birds. Field workers can now submit photos and answer key questions using a drop-down menu to report the locations of bird nests – and other avian-related issues – along the company’s power lines, all from their mobile devices.

Did You Know?

Jennings Randolph Lake is actually a 952-acre reservoir that was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1973-83 to improve water quality and decrease flood damage downstream. The lake has a flourishing avian population, including a pair of bald eagles that have been nesting in the area for more than 10 years.