These sites are owned by I&M and are associated with the federally licensed Elkhart Hydroelectric Project and generating facility, which supplies power to area residents.  I&M’s contractor for the project, CardnoJFNew of Walkerton, Ind., began the stabilization work earlier this spring and will continue intermittently throughout the summer to remove weed species that are detrimental to naturally occurring wildlife within the St. Joseph River watershed and to replace those with vegetation that enhances and protects the natural environment.

“Generating emission-free power through our hydro operations is just one way we can do our part to protect the environment.  Protecting the wildlife that utilize this area is another,” said Paul Chodak, I&M’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

All efforts are being done with the full cooperation and approval of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The project is being undertaken to enhance the naturally-occurring habitat and to protect the shoreline from erosion as well as increase the quality of habitat for wildlife that utilize the three sites.

Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,500 employees serve more than 582,000 customers. It operates 3,595 MW of coal-fired generation in Indiana, 2,110 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan and 22 MW of hydro generation in both states.  The company also provides its customers 250 MW of purchased wind generation.

I&M is a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 39,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 40,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.