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G. Thomas Upshaw | President & CEO
Because we are part of the community we serve, Palmetto
Electric Cooperative is concerned about protecting and preserving our
environment. As with the loggerhead sea turtles, we are also concerned
with the preservation of endangered ospreys in the Lowcountry.
Twenty to 30 years ago, ospreys faced possible extinction, because
the species couldn’t produce enough young to maintain the population. Since
the ban of DDT (a powerful insecticide) in the early 1970s, the ospreys have made
a remarkable recovery. Other restoration strategies, such as artificial nest
construction, also have helped.
For years, electric transmission towers have served as nesting homes for the
migratory osprey. As you drive across the Intracoastal Waterway to Hilton Head
Island, you can spot the ospreys congregating on the towers during the
spring and summer months. Another tower — in Palmetto Electric’s own
backyard — has also served as home to osprey since 1988.
Each spring, our feathered friends — named Ollie and Olivia by one of Palmetto
Electric’s employees — have returned to reside high atop the communications
tower that overlooks Palmetto Electric’s Hilton Head Island operations center.
Now, visitors can get a bird’s-eye view thanks to a Web camera mounted
nearby. Join Palmetto Electric as we anticipate the arrival of our new hatchlings.
The female osprey laid her first egg on March 22, followed by two
more eggs shortly thereafter.
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