Ameren Illinois has partnered with the Grand Prairie Friends nonprofit conservation land trust to repurpose old electrical equipment to help protect two endangered bat species. A crew of Ameren lineworkers transformed used cedar power poles into roosting areas that are now used by hundreds of bats.

The Ameren lineworkers volunteered after-hours to convert the 25-foot power poles, covering their tops with artificial bark and roosting boxes and planting them in two locations within the land trust’s Warbler Ridge conservation area.

"This was definitely a first for me and the lineworkers," said Ryan Weder, Ameren Illinois electric supervisor. "We volunteer and assist different groups throughout the year but when [Grand Prairie Friends Executive Director] Sarah Livesay called me to ask for used poles and assistance in setting them to create roosting areas for bats, I said, 'yes.’"

While most bat populations take many years to find artificial roosts, the ones provided in-part by Ameren Illinois are already seeing use by hundreds of bats. “It's incredible,” said Tara Hohoff, a bat biologist at the University of Illinois and a member of the Illinois Bat Conservation Program. “The success we saw right of way was kind of unprecedented and neat to see.”

Weder and other Ameren Illinois workers in September visited the roosts and presented Grand Prairie Friends with a donation for $5,000 to continue the preservation work. In addition, in the Spring of 2023, the company will set poles at Grand Prairie Friends’ Edna Burnett Land & Water Preserve near Villa Grove. The partnership, along with the donation and other initiatives, is a key part of Ameren Illinois’ commitment to protecting biodiversity. The partnership also was a part of Ameren Illinois’ “Empowering Our Community” initiative, which aims to continually enhance the quality of life in the communities it serves.

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