Power lines and Trees

Sad day here.   The electric company can come on to our land to protect their power lines and they are here right now cutting down about hundred trees.  I am crying. The largest group of trees is where my Barbados Black Belly sheep sleep with the lambs.  These are also trees that I have not identified but in the spring they are the first to blossom and the fragrance is heavenly, the bees love them and was the reason we were going to buy a nice honey bee setup.

I wish we had off grid land and even if we function off-grid the power lines stay.

It is my hope that the trees they are removing will keep them off of our land for the rest of my days. Well I know they will come here if repairs are necessary.  

Just sick.

Around here they usually chip the brush and trees to reduce the space they need for disposal. You can't save the trees this time, but maybe you can save that organic matter. If you have a place they can dump chips, offer to accept what they're trimming right now.

I've seen people who have made agreements with the power company to maintain the right of way for the power company in exchange for the power company not spraying chemicals on their land. (herbicide use is a standard practice for many companies) Maybe you can make a similar arrangement where you keep limbs clear of their lines if they don't come in and do wholesale tree removal in the future. At the very least you might want to confirm that they're not planning on maintaining this freshly cleared area by spraying all new growth.

How close to the power line are the trees?

Also how "Powerful" are the power lines (is it just the feed for your house or more of a distribution power line?)

In general the power company will just remove trees to the point that the branches will not affect/interact with the power lines. But if there are trees that are too big and leaning over the lines they should/will remove them.

Our local electric co- op wanted  $5000 Just to cut down the trees - they also wanted an easement right of way  which would have control of many acres  (We would still have to pay the taxes) So we spend the same money on what we needed for diy solar... We are happy

OH Heck NO! The WV property my daughter and son-in-law just bought has the big high tension power lines running right across the middle of their property. The source of power is mere miles away, so there is no getting rid of these things. But I have no clue how the land below is kept reasonably free of large trees, and I pray it's not by spraying ANYTHING. I don't want any "cides" (herbicide, pesticide, fungicide...) used if possible. I will alert my kids to this possibility. I've also read somewhere that the power company should pay rent for the use of the land where their superstructures reside. Does anyone have any other info I might use in working with and around these monster metal structures?

The rights of access the power company has should be on the title of the land (or whatever it's called in your area).  The goals of the access will be outlined in the document or you can get them by contacting the company with the access rights.  

A good way to reduce the amount of damage they do is to do most of the work for them.  Example, with power companies, keep the area below the lines pasture and move any trees that grow there while the trees are still young.


It's a really tough lesson to learn and I'm sending hugs and good thoughts.

Hi r

Your approach has worked for us. 20 years ago, we were attacked by the power company.   I have made a point of keeping the area around the lines clear a pond they have not been back.

To the OP, beware of the revenge factor.  There is a person I personally know who complained formally.  Of course the power company had the right of easement so the complaint went no where.  They ended up with a new power pole planted in the middle of their front yard.