I&M Power creates partnerships for environmentally balanced habitats

Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) announced on Monday that it is partnering with the Wildlife Habitat Council and the city of Fort Wayne to plan the creation of environmentally balanced habitats along a section of the Powering Up Central Project right-of-way.

I&M will also coordinate with Friends of the Rivers to enhance the area for public use.

The partnership represents the Wildlife Habitat Council’s most extensive involvement with an American Electric Power (AEP) transmission project. Fort Wayne’s Powering Up Central project has been chosen as the pilot for a large collaboration between AEP and the Wildlife Habitat Council.

“We are committed to being responsible stewards of our natural resources while making the necessary upgrades to our transmission grid,” Paul Chodak III, president and chief operating officer of I&M, said. “Our partnership with the Wildlife Habitat Council is an exciting part of our commitment to protect and enhance the natural beauty of Fort Wayne and the many other communities in which we work.”

Additional efforts will include a possible bicycle repair station, benches, educational signage, support for pollinators and birds, tree planting, and targeting of invasive species.