Right-of-Way Program

Crow Wing Power's commitment to safe and reliable electrical service is represented by its continued management of vegetation along power lines. It is the objective of Crow Wing Power to manage vegetation within and adjacent to power line right-of-ways in a cost-effective manner that ensures safe conditions for its employees and the public; reliable uninterrupted electrical service to its members; clear access to lines for maintenance; and reduced workloads for future maintenance. To achieve this goal, Crow Wing Power has designed routine maintenance cycles that provide for an orderly completion of work on defined intervals, generally 6-7 years.

Scheduled Right-of-Way Maintenance (Cycles)

  • Within landscaped areas, trees along primary lines will be pruned for up to 7 years of clearance, depending on the tree species.
  • Trees along service wires (between the transformer and meter) will receive 5 feet of pruning clearance.
  • Trees may be selected for removal if they are growing too close to primary wires.
  • Outside of the landscaped area, woody vegetation will be cleared back to the mature wooded edge, generally 20' from the conductors. 
  • Trees and brush may be cleared mechanically or treated with herbicide. 
  • Hazardous trees outside the corridor may be removed to a safe height.
  • Logs and wood will be left on site, while healthy branches will be chipped. 
  • Dead, diseased or infested trees may be removed to a safe height with no debris clean-up.
  • Stumps will not be removed.
  • All tree pruning performed by or on behalf of Crow Wing Power shall comply with pruning standards defined in ANSI A300 and its companion "Best Management Practices" publications.
  • Trees shall be pruned as needed to ensure that new growth, or the response growth to pruning, will not grow within 2 feet of the nearest primary conductor before the next prescribed maintenance (6-7 years). The expected growth is determined by the species, growing site, age of tree, cycle length and the volume of crown removed.
  • Trees growing in close proximity to the primary conductors that will require severe or repetitive pruning (removal of 1/3 or more of the crown) to contain growth, and/or trees whose natural shape and symmetry will be grossly disfigured by pruning, shall be considered for removal. 
  • Trees that are fast-growing species, such as poplar species, willow species, box elder, black locust, silver maple, hackberry and elm shall be considered for removal if they will require repetitive pruning within the routine maintenance cycle (6-7 years). 
  • High priority for removals will be given to fast-growth trees located beneath the conductors and trees where the avoidance of future cost supports their removal.
  • Critical risk "hazard trees" are trees that feature an excessive lean toward the power line; trees with serious defects such as well-established trunk cankers with serious dry rot; trees with numerous fruiting bodies that indicate decay or heart rot; trees with split trunks; trees that are uprooting; trees with severe "back side" defects; trees completely dead with a center of gravity toward the line; or trees with other major structural defects that render them an imminent hazard of strking the line. 
  • All hazard trees shall be removed given that they pose an imminent hazard of striking the line.
  • Additional widening of corridors is sometimes desirable depending on the site conditions, species, age of trees, and presence or likelihood of defects.
  • Involves an application of herbicide to right-of-way areas. The methods could be foliar application, applied directly to the leaves of smaller tree species, or application of a stubble treatment, done shortly after mechanical mowing operations of trees and brush.
  • The herbicides used are chosen to encourage native grasses and flowers to colonize.
  • All herbicide applications are done by professional applicators licensed by the State of Minnesota through the Department of Agriculture. All productus are approved for use in the right-of-way by the U.S. EPA and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
  • Special precautions are taken around wetlands, waterways, grazing lands and gardens.
  • Pollinators Brochure

 

Unscheduled Right-of-Way Maintenance (Off-Cycle)

  • Critical risk "hazard trees" are trees that feature an excessive lean toward the power line; trees with serious defects such as well-established trunk cankers with serious dry rot; trees with numerous fruiting bodies that indicate decay or heart rot; trees with split trunks; trees that are uprooting; trees with severe "back side" defects; trees completely dead with a center of gravity toward the line; or trees with other major structural defects that render them an imminent hazard of strking the line.
  • All hazard trees pose an imminent hazard of striking the line.
  • Hazard trees may be removed at any time at the discretion of Crow Wing Power and may not be cleaned up.
  • If a property owner requests to have a tree removed, Crow Wing Power will offer tree removal service if the tree poses an outage or safety threat. It is the property owner's responsibility to dispose of the tree.
  • If the tree is not an outage or safety threat or Crow Wing Power Right-of-Way Crews cannot access the tree, Crow Wing Power will offer to deenergize and/or remove the line temporarily. The property owner may then coordinate the safe removal of the tree.

The Importance of Planting

Planting trees and shrubs strategically around buildings can improve energy efficiency by providing shade, reducing cooling costs in summer, and acting as windbreaks to lower heating costs in winter.

Learn more about proper planting and review planting resources on our planting page!