Fury at Statenet: – Totally hair-raising

– Continuing this in the middle of the breeding season is a purely hair-raising practice, says Tommy Solaim for TV 2.

He lives in Dalsbygda in Isfjorden and has a view of the route to the power line through the idyllic Venkadalen. When he heard and saw the work the two were doing, he contacted Statenet.

– It does not match the social responsibility of the Statenet and does not align well with natural diversity. They should stop doing this during breeding season, Solaim believes.

– Terrible

Soleim reported to BirdLife Norway. They are suspicious of Statenet’s practices.

– From a bird’s eye view, it’s more complicated. Line clearing during breeding season is unnatural. April to July is the central breeding season and all birds have nests. If someone cuts down that tree, it is cruel to treat it. If that’s the case, there will be no nesting this year, general secretary Kedil Adne Solbakken tells TV 2 at BirdLife Norway.

According to Solpakkan, the Biodiversity Act has several exceptions related to logging. He supports Tommy Soleim in his desire for StatNet to change its practice.

– We understand that statenet line cleaning needs to be done, but this type of maintenance can be scheduled and carried out outside of the nesting season. Solbakken says that we are in the middle of a natural and climate crisis, and then Statnett cannot move forward as they would like.

– Practice should be changed

14 species that breed in forests or woodlands are on the Red List.
Norwegian birders do not know whether there are any red-listed species in the area in question in Venkadalen.

– Now it nests in every second tree, and sooner or later, line clearing will hit endangered species, says Solbakken at BirdLife.

Solim vented his frustration with Statenet in a post on Facebook. Reactions are not long in coming.

– I got a surprising number of reactions. It has created unparalleled attraction for ornithologists and environmentalists. Everyone thinks I should report the relationship. But I am more interested in Statenet going down and changing its practice, Solim tells TV2.

Excuse me

Statenet has now stopped working at Venkadalan.

– In this case, work has started by mistake in the area where another time should have been selected for line clearing. We are very sorry, and now we have to see how we can learn from this so that it doesn’t happen again, says Hegon Smith-Isaksen, communications consultant at Statenet, to Holdus TV 2.

– How does line clearing during the breeding season align with Statenet’s social responsibility regarding environmental responsibility and conservation of natural diversity?

– Statnett shall assume overall sustainability responsibility integrated into the entire operations of the company. Removing lines that have unnecessary negative effects on the environment, for example during nesting periods for many birds, should be avoided, Smith-Isaksen Holts responds.

Statenet runs 12,000 kilometers of wire and cable across the country.

– What assessments has Statenet made of line clearing during the breeding season and the consequences?

– We try to do this kind of work in a way that does not disturb the surroundings as much as possible and is gentle on nature and wildlife, says Håkon Smith-Isaksen Holdhus.

Statenet says they are constantly working to find ways to implement line clearing in a smoother way.

– Statnet says, among other things, it has conducted several experiments using goats to control growth under wires.

Åndalsnes Avis writes that regulations for line removal and forestry work during the breeding season are regulated by a separate forest certification system. These rules state that during the period from May to July, forestry should be avoided in forests important for bird habitat.