Land & Biodiversity
We have a responsibility to protect the land and nature we use.
Protecting Local Wildlife
Evergy's commitment to environmental stewardship is reflected in our numerous initiatives aimed at protecting wildlife habitats, promoting sustainable land use, and reducing our ecological footprint.
Through collaborative efforts with local conservation organizations and proactive measures such as habitat restoration and avian protection programs, we strive to create a balance between our operations and the natural world. By investing in these initiatives, Evergy not only ensures the reliability of our energy services but also contributes to the long-term health and vitality of our communities and ecosystems.
Habitats and Havens
We're committed to encouraging habitats rich in wildlife and vegetation surrounding our generating stations. The water resources at our generation facilities are great habitats for several species of fish and birds.
Wildlife Areas
Jeffrey Energy Center Wildlife Area
The two primary lakes at Jeffrey Energy Center are open to fishing species such as smallmouth and largemouth bass and walleye, and wildlife is abundant in the surrounding 5,600-acre William B. Hanzlick Wildlife Area, where deer, turkey, quail, ducks, geese and other native species are frequently seen.
Evergy Prairie Wetland
Iatan Reserve Wetland and Lewis and Clark Wetland
Near the Iatan Generating Station in Weston, Mo., we restored 20 acres of wetlands, 20 acres of uplands and 10 acres of forest and swamp. The habitat is home to trumpeter swans, peregrine falcons and other rare birds and wildlife species. In the winter, this area of the river is home to one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles in Missouri.
Montrose Conservation Area
The 1,600-acre Montrose Lake near Clinton, Mo. sits among 3,600 acres of land. The lake is a popular fishing destination and a haven for waterfowl. The University of Kansas Ornithology Department visits the lake every winter to conduct overwintering bird counts.
Coffey County Lake
The cooling lake for Wolf Creek Generating Station, Coffey County Lake in Burlington, Kan. is dedicated exclusively to fishing. It’s developed into a premier fishing lake for species including largemouth and smallmouth bass, blue catfish and white bass. The lake has been featured on national fishing television shows.
La Cygne Wildlife Area
At La Cygne Generating Station, nearly 5,000 acres—including 2,400 of lake—is home to deer, rabbits, wild turkey, ducks and geese. The water-discharge lake offers an abundance of largemouth bass, blue catfish and crappie. Bird watching is a year-round experience with white pelicans in the spring, and bald eagles and double-crested cormorants in the spring and fall. Visitors can also spot great blue herons and belted kingfishers on the lake’s banks.
Grassland Protection and Restoration
Evergy’s service area has some of the most diverse biodiversity in the United States. The biodiversity of the area includes mixed and tall grass prairies, in addition to deciduous forests and mountain glades. Native grasslands are one of the most impacted and least protected habitats in the world. Of the less than five percent of tallgrass prairie that remains in the world, most are found in the Flint Hills Region of Kansas.
Evergy has been participating as a member of the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group since 2018. This group represents more than 200 organizations from across private industry, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and academia in the United States and Canada with a purpose to collaborate and identify best management practices for habitat conservation on working landscapes, specifically our power line rights-of-way.
Monarch Habitat Conservation
Evergy was also an early supporter of the monarch butterfly Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA). The CCAA is a formal agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and non-federal property owners, like Evergy, to voluntarily commit to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat to benefit the monarch butterfly with the goal that listing this species as endangered or threatened will become unnecessary. By enrolling in this CCAA, Evergy has committed to conserving more than 20,000 acres of monarch butterfly habitat on our rights-of-way and company-owned land throughout Kansas and Missouri.
Avian Protection Program
Evergy is committed to reducing harmful effects of electrical equipment on birds and their habitat. Bird interactions with power lines can lead to injury or death for the bird, reduced nesting success, power outages, and other negative effects to birds and humans. We focus on three areas to prevent these from happening:
- Preventative: Ensure through construction standards and pre-construction evaluations that all new electrical construction is bird safe.
- Proactive: Retrofit or rebuild existing equipment as appropriate when an area of high bird use or critical habitat is identified.
- Reactive: Retrofit or rebuild existing equipment to remediate negative bird interactions.
Evergy works closely with local agencies to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all birds during our projects, including:
Evergy's Seasonal Falcon Cams
As part of our Avian Protection Program (APP), we partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Wildlife Services, Missouri Department of Conservation, and Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to provide nesting opportunities and public awareness through our three nest cameras.
We ask that our viewers keep in mind that these birds are wild creatures. We take great lengths to limit any interaction with them. Like many wild raptors, falcon chick success rates are low in nature and we work to avoid any additional disturbance during critical nesting season, which begins in the spring and continues through early summer. Falcon chicks typically leave the nest, or "fledge," about 5-6 weeks after hatching.
These buttons will take you directly to Evergy’s YouTube channel to view the live stream of each falcon nest.
Topeka Falcons
Topeka Falcons
