Transmission Towers On the Monarch Trail ?  
   Look Out, Song Birds !!
Public Meeting:  Sept. 12th, 4-7pm, Wauwatosa Civic Center, 76th & North Ave

Your input is needed.  Birds colliding with transmission wires and towers are the second biggest killer of song birds.  And towers are coming to the Monarch Trail.  (The first bird killer is loss and/or degradation of wildlife habitat due to human development and disturbance—US Fish & Wildlife Service).  No similar studies have been published on butterflies, but 60-100 foot four-tiered towers and their magnetic field will likely have a detrimental effect on monarch migration.  According to Barb Agnew of the Monarch Trail, the required tree clearance (think clear-cutting) around the towers will prevent much of the tree restoration that had been planned.  Although underground lines are possible, according to Siemens Co. who for 30 years makes the gas-insulated, low external magnetic field underground wires, they are rare in the United States due to cost.  Most are in Europe.  

At a Public Meeting on September 12th, American Transmissions Company will be presenting four routes of 138-kilovolt transmission lines to be built in order to bring more electrical power to the ever developing County Grounds.  Two of the routes, selected by the Public Service Commission, will be built.  Route A would run overhead, down the center of the north and south berms of the Monarch Trail, east along Watertown Plank Rd., then north to the new We Energies' substation north of 93rd and Watertown Plank Rd.  Route B would cross east over HWY 45 and then go underground across the north berm of the Monarch Trail and follow a UWM service road south of the Eschweiler Buildings to the substation.  Routes C and D would run from an existing substation at 99th St. and I-94, near or through a residential area and across the Medical Complex, to hook up with the new substation.  All of D and part of C would be underground.  

It is the Public Service Commission who makes the final selection, with possible modifications to above/below ground, based upon information submitted by ATC, including public comments, and cost estimates.   ATC's stated environmental goal:  avoid, minimize, protect.  Both ATC and Wis. PSC need to hear from you.

Make you voice heard by attending the Open House Public Meeting, talking to ACT representatives and filing comments.  You can contact Wis. PSC at:   http://psc.wi.gov/apps40/complaint/consumer/FileComplaint.aspx (?)
To view a map of ATC's proposed routes, go to:  www.atc-projects.com/SE-WMCR.shtml.  
To see ATC's map superimposed on the County Grounds and surrounding neighborhood, go to themonarchtrail.org//___            Dianne Dagelen, Conservation Chair, G WG