Brandywine ROW Stewardship Program

About the Program
Exelon Corporation and its electric and natural gas utility subsidiary PECO manage a 4.3-acre right-of way (ROW) project in an area that has been an electrical ROW for transmission towers in Chester County, outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The land is located alongside the Brandywine River and is well known for spring flooding, categorized as a freshwater forested/shrub wetland with a mosaic of upland meadows, wetland swales, scrub/shrub and forested wetland. The site contains a diverse assemblage of native species including common milkweed, Allegheny monkeyflower, sensitive fern and late goldenrod. The program aims to increase the diversity of native plant species in the ROW by managing invasive species, planting native species and monitoring the status of the area. The project area is also adjacent to the Chadds Ford Swamp NHS and is part of the 30-acre Brandywine Conservation Easement, so the company coordinates management work closely with these stakeholder groups.

Practices and Impacts

• In the spring of 2019, 1,050 purple loosestrife beetles were released to eat and thus help manage the invasive species population in the area and allow native plant species to flourish. The purple loosestrife population will continue to be monitored to understand the success of the beetle deployment over a three-year period. Monitoring will take place in both spring and fall and will include review of invasive species and evidence of any impact as well as native plant species coverage.
• Monitoring performed in November 2019 showed the project site to be a flourishing grassland area with a variety of highly habitable vegetation and many types of animal wildlife including the pileated woodpecker, bluebird, wood duck, yellow-shafted flicker and swamp sparrow.
• In addition to the beetle release, spot spraying for weeds is applied as needed. The meadow area is mowed to maintain well-kept brush and grass, and an invasive plant removal occurred in the spring of 2019.
• Thousands of people visit the adjacent Brandywine River Art Museum and use the five miles of walking trails which traverse the project area, with wood bridges over wet areas and trail marker signs. The trails are mowed for accessibility by PECO’s project team.
• Exelon works with many partners in this effort, including a PECO environmental team that oversees the monitoring of the ROW and work related to beetle release; Weeds Inc., which provides weed control, mows the site and releases the purple loosestrife beetles; and Brandywine Conservancy, whose botanist provides expertise and lessons on both native and invasive plant species and proper protocol for removing invasive plants.