Ingenuity & Passion: NorthWestern Energy’s Yellowstone manager finds creative, low-cost solution to protect the landscape

NorthWestern Energy’s Yellowstone manager finds creative, low-cost solution to protect the landscape.

Visitors to Yellowstone National Park experience unique natural features and extraordinary wildlife while exploring the park’s more than 2 million acres.

Stewardship of this country’s first national park is the paramount priority for NorthWestern Energy, which provides electric service for Yellowstone.

Power lines are located out of sight when possible, allowing uninterrupted views of Yellowstone Park’s incredible vistas.

But access to those out-of-sight power lines for patrols, repairs and upgrades requires travel over meadows, wet ground and creeks.

NorthWestern Energy Yellowstone Town Manager Brett Jones came up with a solution to prevent equipment needed to access power lines from disturbing the landscape, with some creativity and common materials.

NorthWestern Energy Yellowstone Town Manager Brett Jones

Using scrap conduit – the plastic pipe that houses underground power lines – and rope, Brett crafted a lightweight mat prototype to lay down over sensitive areas that equipment can drive over.

“The mat needed to be light enough for two people to be able to load on a trailer and roll out over the ground,” Brett said.

Using scrap conduit – the plastic pipe that houses underground power lines – and rope, our Yellowstone crew crafted lightweight mats to lay down over sensitive areas to protect vegetation.

The prototype worked well, and now the crew in Yellowstone Park has about a dozen of the mats, which were rolled out this summer.

“We have to go across some really wet landscape, especially in the spring, and these mats helped us avoid getting our machines stuck,” Brett said. “When you need it, you are really glad you have it.”

Working with the Park Service, NorthWestern Energy installed temporary bridges to allow us to stay in the right-of-ways under our power lines.

Steep embankments along creeks are another challenge because of the risk of rolling over equipment and making some areas impassible. Detouring equipment around the hazards could leave tracks on the landscapes.

“Working with the Park Service, we installed temporary bridges so that we can cross creeks safely and stay in the right-of-ways under the power lines,” Brett said.

The solutions are proactive and cost-effective, said NorthWestern Energy Division Manager Matt Fettig.

“Brett has always been a forward thinker who loves the outdoors and cares about the resources in our service area, especially in Yellowstone,” Matt said. “He came up with great new ways to mitigate the effects our work has on the land.”