Pollinator Friendly Practices

The NAPPC WHC Pollinator Protection Award

The Wildlife Habitat Council and North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) are pleased to announce a special award to be presented at WHC's Symposium the annual NAPPC WHC Pollinator Protection Award.

The recipient is chosen each year from the pool of sites that apply for recognition with WHC as a Pollinator Friendly Program. The recognition is offered for certified WHC sites that implement specific land management practices to promote pollinator populations.

If your program includes butterfly gardens, meadows, native plantings, then the Pollinator Friendly Practices will enhance the value of such projects through simple, yet critical, steps.

Apply for recognition today! Download the application online. Visit the Directory of Awards to learn about this and other WHC awards.

2007 NAPPC WHC Pollinator Protection Award
American Electric Power Plant
Southwestern Electric Power
Flint Creek Power Plant

American Electric Power's Flint Creek Power Plant, located in Gentry, Arkansas, exhibits an extensive commitment to environmental stewardship initiatives via the numerous habitat enhancement projects that continue to evolve and benefit wildlife.

The site consists of approximately 1,600 acres with an estimated 700 acres designated as wildlife habitat. In particular, ten acres are managed specifically for butterflies, bees, bats and other pollinators. The site's 500-acres cooling lake also provides mud flats necessary for butterfly puddling, the term used to describe a butterfly landing on the ground to sip nutrient- rich water.

Bat houses and butterfly boxes are provided as roosting areas. Brush piles are strategically placed throughout the site to protect pollinators during harsh weather conditions, and dead snags and logs remain in place to provide natural over-wintering areas. To further protect sensitive insect larvae, the wildlife team does not mow the site’s tall-grass prairie during nesting season. Insecticides are never used on site and controlled burns are conducted in early spring to help control invasive plant species and unwanted cool season plants.

A hummingbird pollinates a flower at American Electric Power's Flint Creek Power Plant in Gentry, Arkansas. The site has been WHC certified for Wildlife at Work since 2002 and CLL since 2004.

The community is constantly involved in the wildlife team’s pollinator- related activities. Bloomfield 4-H Club and Gentry Middle School 6th grade students plant additional pollinator friendly gardens, build extra puddling areas, and contribute to the site’s ongoing species inventory. The students also utilize the area as an outdoor classroom and determine which plants are most beneficial to native pollinators. John Brown University botany classes and local conservation groups visit the site every year, offering valuable suggestions.

The Flint Creek Power Plant Corporate Lands for Learning (CLL) program focuses on the facility’s Eagle Watch Nature Trail, where students participate in wildlife observation, plant identification, biodiversity studies and nest box monitoring programs. Community partners include the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Each year on Earth Day, employees from SWEPCO sponsor an education event focusing on raptors in conjunction with the Morning Star Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

Flint Creek Power Plant is owned by AEP’s Southwestern Electric Power (SWEPCO) subsidiary and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and operated by AEP SWEPCO. Flint Creek Power Plant was also selected as a Signature of Sustainability and will be featured as part of a national media tour celebrating WHC’s 20th Anniversary in 2008. In addition, Bloomfield Community 4-H Club, a key partner group in many projects at the site, was presented with the 2007 Community Partner of the Year.