Vegetation Management
AltaLink is dedicated to our environmental responsibilities, and we work to ensure all vegetation management work is carried out in an environmentally sensitive manner.
What is vegetation management?
Protecting your community while providing safe, reliable power is our highest priority. We have a responsibility to properly manage our rights-of-way, maintaining code clearance requirements to ensure safe, reliable electricity. A tree making contact with a line can lead to an interruption in power for entire communities and could even cause a fire. Keeping the lines clear means keeping the lights on and keeping everyone safe.
To ensure the safe operation and maintenance of our transmission facilities, AltaLink has a long-term vegetation management plan for the areas on and adjacent to our rights-of-way. Essentially, the plan outlines the types of vegetation that are suitable for the safe operation and maintenance of our transmission facilities. Vegetation control methods used are influenced by environmental, location, seasonal, cost and landowner considerations, and comply with environmental legislation.
AltaLink has been accredited as a Right-of-way Stewardship Utility for Sustainable Integrated Vegetation Management since 2015. This accreditation recognizes AltaLink for committing to the Right-of-Way Stewardship Council’s stringent standards of excellence for the environmental management of the areas beneath transmission lines. AltaLink is the first and only Canadian utility to receive this accreditation.
We follow industry standards for vegetation management, including guidance and research from:
- International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
- Utility Arborist Association (UAA)
- Utility Vegetation Management Association (UVMA)
- Professional Vegetation Management Association (PVMA)
To help maintain our rights-of-way, AltaLink uses qualified and certified contractors to perform some vegetation management activities under our direction.
Vegetation management and easements
Vegetation management near our transmission lines includes removing or trimming danger trees, hazard trees, shrubs or undergrowth along the rights-of-way and Vegetation Control Easements (VCE).
A VCE is a strip of land on Crown land along the edge of right-of-way that allows AltaLink to remove hazard trees and danger trees.
A hazard tree is a defective tree that is an imminent risk of falling or flashover on the line, whereas a danger tree is a healthy tree that is tall enough to have the potential to fall and make contact with the line.
AltaLink will not remove vegetation located on private property beyond the right-of-way boundary without the approval of the landowner. To report a potential hazard or danger tree, please contact us at 1-877-267-1453 or StakeholderRelations@AltaLink.ca.
Compatible and non-compatible species
AltaLink has identified types of trees, shrubs and other plants that are safe to grow near our transmission lines (compatible) and those that are potentially dangerous to grow near our transmission lines (non-compatible).
This is not a complete list but is meant to generally illustrate the types of vegetation that are safe to be in or near our rights-of-way. Due to factors such as structure height, transmission line voltage, and width of right-of-way, safe heights for vegetation near transmission lines is determined on a case-by-case basis.
| Wire zone | Border zone | Right-of-way edge | Non-compatible species |
|
Beaked hazelnut Buckbrush Buffalo berry Common blueberry Dogwood Honeysuckle Labrador tea Low bush cranberry Mugo pine Shrubby cinquefoil Swamp/bog birch Wild gooseberry Wild raspberry Wild rhubarb Wild rose
|
Beaked hazelnut Black spruce Buckbrush Buffalo berry Common blueberry Dogwood Honeysuckle Labrador tea Low bush cranberry Mugo pine Shrubby cinquefoil Swamp/bog birch Wild gooseberry Wild raspberry Wild rhubarb Wild rose |
Black spruce Chokecherry Pin cherry Saskatoon
|
Poplar Birch Alder Maple Ash Elm Willow* Spruce Pine Tamarack Douglas fir Prohibited noxious weeds Noxious weeds Invasive plants
|
* Some varieties of willow, such as laurel leaf willow, are non-compatible for AltaLink’s transmission lines due to factors including how quickly they grow. Other varieties, such as wolf willow, may be considered compatible in specific areas. Willows are assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure safety.
Weed control
AltaLink takes steps to help prevent the growth of weeds along our rights-of-way, which includes cutting, pulling or mowing, or the application of approved herbicides. The weed control method depends on the area and its conditions, and the species of weed. On native grasslands, herbicides would not typically be used, but depending on the size and type of the infestation, may be the only option.
Weed control for rights-of-way on private land is generally the responsibility of the landowner. In some cases, AltaLink may have made commitments to monitor for and control weeds for a specified period after construction projects have been completed.
Please see AltaLink's list of approved herbicides for use at our facilities. AltaLink only uses herbicides approved by Health Canada.
Grass mowing
We also look after grass mowing around our facilities, including substations, telecommunications sites and along transmission lines through urban areas. We will attempt to maintain these corridors with a mind to adjacent properties, but please note these are industrial sites and will not be maintained the same as a residential lawn. In some cases, they will be naturalized green spaces with taller grasses and low bushes. Transmission facilities within urban areas will typically be cut two to three times per year.