Partnership Between Power Utility and Environmentalists Help State's Peregrine Falcon Population

Tuesday, January 17th, 2023 -- 8:01 AM

(By Gaby Vinick, Wisconsin Public Radio) The world's fastest animal nearly went extinct by the mid-1960s, but an unlikely partnership between a power utility and environmentalists helped lead to a rebound that has peregrine falcons once again bulleting through Wisconsin's skies.  

According to Gaby Vinick with Wisconsin Public Radio, in the mid-20th century, the agricultural pesticide DDT killed insects, but researcher Greg Septon said "it also worked its way up the food chain."

Peregrines began to lay thin-shelled eggs after foraging on songbirds, which ate insects that he said had been contaminated. The federal government didn't ban the chemical until 1972.

Years later, the peregrine falcons started to take flight again in Wisconsin when Septon founded the statewide Falcon Recovery Project in 1986. Despite not seeing any peregrine falcons growing up, Septon said he had always taken an interest in the species.

While working for the Milwaukee Public Museum, he thought of putting up nest boxes on tall structures along the Lake Michigan shoreline for migrating birds. "There were a lot of sleepless nights that winter, I wondered if it was going to work or not. And I thought, 'if it doesn't work, I'm gonna look pretty dumb,'" Septon said.

But it did, the first pair of peregrine falcons produced young at a Sheboygan power plant owned by Alliant Energy.  And in 1992, We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service agreed to support the project.

That year, fifteen young peregrine falcons produced in captivity were released from nests atop the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant. The goal was to release captive-produced chicks into the wild to a point where enough could start nesting in natural areas, according to Mike Grisar, an environmental team leader for WEC Energy Group, which owns We Energies.

"Through the peregrine falcon, we have this phenomenal opportunity every year to raise awareness of protected species and species that are not doing well," he said. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the program, and since its inception, the sites have seen the births of more than 400 chicks. The state now has about 40 nesting pairs.

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