Whenever we do a project on the hill, we try and keep our impact as small as we can. That said, sometimes we still have an impact and as the projects are completed, we try and return the site to as natural of a condition as we can. Installing Lenawee Express in 2022 was a big project. While we used a spider hoe to minimize heavy equipment impacts, there were still disturbances around the lift tower locations. As construction wound down, we re-established and re-seeding those locations, often using mats to hold vegetation in place.
Earlier this week I was hiking on the Half Moon Trail which brought me close to Tower 6, one of our bigger impact areas. I was excited to see how well the re-veg work was going there. Our growing season is quite short and with only 1 1/2 growing seasons since construction, the vegetation looks really great. In a few more seasons, it will be hard to determine where the disturbance limits were.
