Alabama Power protects rare white fringeless orchid on transmission rights of way

While supplying reliable electricity, Alabama Power works hard to preserve the state’s natural beauty. Part of this includes caring for species that grow in the company’s transmission rights of way.

The white fringeless orchid is a federally protected plant found in Alabama and a few Southeastern states. This rare species thrives in boggy wetlands and likes sphagnum moss and lots of sunlight.

“Once we found the white fringeless orchid in a single wetland, we went back and surveyed the rest of our wetlands, finding it in a total of four wetlands,” said Dylan Shaw, a biologist for Alabama Power Environmental Affairs.

With this knowledge, Alabama Power has taken measures to protect the species. The company partners with local landowners, nonprofits and federal entities to properly manage the orchid, ensuring it thrives on company-managed lands.

“We take extra care in managing these wetlands to give the orchids the best possible growing habitat, joining a multistate effort to see this species reach recovery across its range,” Shaw added. “This is part of Alabama Power’s ongoing stewardship efforts to protect and preserve the orchid, and other sensitive species, in one of the nation’s most biodiverse states.”