Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
November 29, 2022
Rights-of-Way & Energy Sustainable Habitat Program structured to advance conservation and community engagement efforts
Corteva Agriscience has announced a 3-year partnership with the nation’s leading upland habitat conservation group, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, to enhance habitat within various non-crop areas to help improve plant and wildlife biodiversity throughout the United States. The partnership is structured to strengthen the Rights-of-Way & Energy (ROWE) Habitat Program, which Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever launched to assess and measurably improve habitat, biodiversity, and conservation on transportation, railway, oil and gas, electric and solar corridors across the country.
“Corteva Agriscience shares common goals with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever,” said Damon Palmer, Marketing Leader, U.S. Specialties, Corteva Agriscience. “We want to improve land stewardship to create healthier, diverse ecosystems that connect fragmented landscapes for significant habitat benefits. Together, we’ll work to help industry professionals enhance everything from biodiversity and conservation efforts to cost efficiency, community engagement and ESG actions.”
The partnership will pair the knowledge of conservation experts and wildlife biologists with solutions and strategies recommended by Corteva Agriscience Vegetation Management Specialists. This balanced approach is expected to help industry practitioners create sustainable, integrated habitat management plans with the potential to improve up to five million acres of the estimated 35 million acres of rights-of-way and energy corridors in the United States. This would be a 14 percent improvement in total rights-of-way and energy acres nationwide.
“There are plenty of reasons for focusing on rights-of-way and energy as an untapped habitat resource, but this incredible opportunity also resonates deeply for partner industries who want to lower their maintenance costs, provide a service to customers, promote biodiversity and ultimately, change landowner perceptions of rights-of-way usage,” said Michael Retterer, National Rights-of-Way and Energy Coordinator with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “These corridors should be considered ribbons of biological diversity as opposed to simply rights-of-ways maintained for the intended use of the site, and we’re dedicated to helping with that transformation.”
Corteva has prioritized efforts to address biodiversity challenges and identify opportunities to make measurable progress toward protecting beneficial plants, wildlife and pollinators. Partnering with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever also strengthens the organization’s commitment to collaboration as it works to develop new technologies for land management professionals, promote the use of sustainable land management practices, and address societal issues, such as land-use change and biodiversity loss.
For more information on partnerships and resources structured to further habitat enhancement practices in vegetation management, visit HabitatWithHerbicides.com.
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