Diablo Canyon land stewardship program recognized by Wildlife Habitat Council
Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Diablo Canyon Land Stewardship Program has again received the Wildlife Habitat Council’s Corporate Lands for Learning accreditation. The certification is a coveted designation that recognizes individual companies and organizations for commendable wildlife habitat management and environmental education programs.
The recognition was announced this week following the WHC’s annual symposium in Baltimore, MD. In addition to the three-year re-certification, the land stewardship program at PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant was also a finalist for the WHC’s “Corporate Lands for Learning of the Year” award, which recognizes a single program each year for outstanding environmental education, stewardship and voluntary employee efforts.
“Environmental stewardship is one of the cornerstones of PG&E’s values,” said Ed Halpin, Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer at PG&E. “That commitment is evident through the thousands of acres of rugged coastline and pristine land on which Diablo Canyon Power Plant sits and that we vigilantly preserve. We are honored to once again receive this recognition from the Wildlife Habitat Council and will continue our efforts to maintain this valuable resource for the benefit of local wildlife and our surrounding communities.”
Corporate Lands for Learning certified corporate sites offer experiential, place-based learning opportunities by using their habitat as a tool for teaching ecological concepts and the human role in conservation. The WHC’s certification criteria for the accreditation are stringent. Organizations must demonstrate that their programs have been active for at least one year with a management plan that lists goals, objectives and prescriptions and complete documentation of all programs.
PG&E’s land stewardship managed access programs at Diablo Canyon were re-accredited in recognition of the company’s efforts to manage and protect natural and cultural resources, while conserving biological diversity on more than 14 miles of pristine coastline and sharing these resources with researchers and the public. The land stewardship team consists of professionals from many disciplines who monitor land uses, including archeologists, biologists, engineers, land planners and foresters.
Examples of PG&E’s land management efforts include the routine control of unwanted vegetation through a managed grazing program that has resulted in a healthier rangeland habitat that sustains native plant species while reducing the spread of invasive species. The program also utilizes prescribed burns, in coordination with various fire agencies, to enhance the fire-dependent ecosystem and create natural fire breaks. This work has improved watersheds by preventing wide spread sedimentation and rejuvenated a bishop pine forest.
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