Consumers Energy

Consumers Energy has a long tradition of restoring, protecting and caring for its lands, working hard to meet the growing needs of the world, while taking special care to maintain and renew the precious resources we all share. Management and employees have worked hard to assure the careful and responsible stewardship of our lands and natural resources. Based in Jackson, Michigan, Consumers Energy is one of the largest combination gas and electric utilities in the United States, and is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy. As a long-standing member of the Wildlife Habitat Council since 1988, Consumers Energy has been involved with projects and partners within local communities to promote economic and social sustainability. 

The wildlife habitat sign is proudly displayed at the J.H. Campbell Complex, which has been WHC certified since 1991.

"Green places" abound on Consumers Energy carefully protected hydro lands, rights-of-way and buffer zones taking special care to craft an individual plan for each site. Activities range from restoring native prairie habitat, constructing hundreds of bird nesting boxes and platforms and safeguarding fragile riparian corridors, wetlands and upland areas. 

The thousands of students who visit Consumers Energy’s generating or wildlife habitat facilities each year carry away potentially life-shaping messages about the value of environmental activities. As an advocate for biodiversity, Consumers Energy builds an enduring and expanding base of support, helping people to make the connection between wildlife habitat conservation and their surrounding communities.

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Consumers Energy manages 6,258 acres of wildlife habitat associated with six hydroelectric projects within the Au Sable River watershed. The six projects include the Mio, Alcona, Five Channels, Loud, Cooke and Foote Dams. These projects adopt the management standards and guidelines of the surrounding Huron-Manistee National Forests' Land and Resource Management Plan to achieve a seamless approach to ecosystem management. The Au Sable River hydroelectric projects are included as "Watchable Wildlife" viewing areas in the Michigan Wildlife Viewing Guide.

Eaglets take advantage of nesting habitat near the Cooke Dam Pond part of Consumers Energy Au Sable Hydroelectric Projects.

The Land Management Plan, which includes a Wildlife and Forestry Management Plan, covers all aspects of land management for the Au Sable River hydroelectric projects. The management plan contains projects and initiatives, such as a trumpeter swan trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) reintroduction program and bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) monitoring program.

Consumers Energy participates in power line closures to limit human disturbance near bald eagle nest sites, conducts intensive monitoring through aerial eagle productivity census flights, and includes electronic monitoring and traffic counters to measure foot and snowmobile traffic near nest protection zones. The eagles hunt for fish and waterfowl in the shallow areas of the river and in the reservoirs formed by the six hydro dams.

Consumers Energy has participated in efforts to restore a self-sustaining trumpeter swan population in the state of Michigan. In partnership with the Michigan State University – Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Detroit Zoological Institute and Michigan DNR, Consumers Energy provided funding for and participated in the release of twenty-four trumpeter swans on the Au Sable and Manistee rivers. 

The trumpeter swan is the largest waterfowl in North America and the largest swan in the world. It is a majestic bird, with snowy white feathers; jet-black bill, feet and legs; and eight-foot wingspan. To many people it is the embodiment of strength, grace, beauty and unspoiled wilderness. 

Foote Dam trumpeter swans with a brood of five cygnets. The parents who were released by Consumers Energy are identified by the green neck bands. The cygnets will attain the all white adult plumage and black bill in the spring. Photo by Gary Dawson, Consumers Energy.

The first official management action that was and still is of great benefit to the trumpeter swan population was the inclusion of swans as protected species under the Migratory Birds Convention of 1916. Biologists began trumpeter restoration efforts in the 1960s, but it wasn't until the early 1990s that Michigan’s wild trumpeter population was re-established.

The distinctive hoot of the trumpeter swan is more likely to be performed on Michigan’s wetlands, according to the most recent census that points to successful restoration efforts. 

"The trumpeter swan’s presence in Michigan is one indicator of a quality wetland. It is also a move toward large-scale habitat restoration, the key to maintaining biodiversity," said Joe Johnson, chief wildlife biologist, Kellogg Bird Sanctuary. Fisheries and wildlife experts manage the Sanctuary’s resources and use it as a center for research and education.

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