Utility rights of way help make habitats more diverse

If you flew over Washington County, or more conveniently viewed it on your computer via something like Google Maps you might notice long straight lines crisscrossing the county.

Utility rights of way cross both private and public lands in order to deliver both electricity and gas products to customers nearby, and in some cases, states away.

From the sky it is remarkable how the earthly lines are so perfect as they connect distant points with the straightest line possible. From ground level in southeastern Ohio although the lines are straight as an arrow horizontally, vertically, they travel up and down Ohio hills like a billy goat.

In Marietta, several rights of way provide paths for electricity on its way from, and to, a major electrical substation on a hilltop off of Mill Creek Road near Marietta High School. The rights of way cut large swaths through several of Marietta's wooded areas.

From the hilltop a large right of way carries some massive lines down a hill and through the Rudolph Farm Trails network, across Ohio 821 and through the middle of the Broughton Nature and Wildlife area. Since rights of way are straight, and hiking trails are normally anything but, trails tend to frequently cross them.

I have spent a lot of time on the different trails in Marietta, so I have crossed the rights of way hundreds of times. When you come across them it feels like you are crossing into an entirely different environment.

In the summer they tend to be about 15 degrees warmer than the wooded areas. They are also much drier. Once the leaves come out in the spring, flowering plants simply don't get enough light under the canopy of trees. This is not the case in the rights of way where a variety of grasses and wildflowers thrive.

The diverse plants attract a broad spectrum of wildlife. I have frequently seen deer grazing on tall grasses. They also provide a habitat for things like mice and rabbits, which then attract things like foxes, hawks, owls and snakes.

Pollinators such as bees and wasps are attracted to the many flowering plants that you find in rights of way. Over the years the area rights of way have proven to be great places to capture images of a variety of plants and animals that have featured on page 2 of The Times and the weather page of the News and Sentinel. I once photographed the thousands of tiny ants living in and on top of the largest ant hill that I have ever seen. If you do any hiking in the area, make sure you pause and enjoy the cleared area between the trees as well.

Of course, the purpose of rights of way is to keep tree limbs from interfering with the electric lines. Anyone that has ever lost power after a winter storm should appreciate the hard work of the workers that keep the areas clear. Keeping them clear does not mean mowing them like a golf course so for the most part they tend to be somewhat wild in their own way.

Art Smith is online manager of The Marietta Times and The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, he can be reached at asmith@mariettatimes.com