Clearing and Vegetation Management
MEA is committed to providing safe, reliable power to our members. Effective vegetation management is vital in the effort to reduce tree-related outages. For the safety of the public and crews, please keep clear of the work zone while crews are accessing and clearing rights-of-way. For questions related to clearing our rights-of-way, please contact our clearing department by email at clearingdepartment@mea.coop or call 907-761-9269.
Clearing Process
MEA currently works on a 7-year clearing cycle to safely mitigate hazardous trees and vegetation in the rights-of-way. These proactive clearing efforts have greatly helped reduce outages and improve power reliability for our members. The standard right of way measures 30 feet (or 15 feet to each side from the center of the pole), although some easements can be as little as 20 feet up to 40 feet wide. MEA will be clearing all vegetation within the full width of the easement with mowing machines, bucket trucks and hand cutting. All trees and brush in the easement will be disposed of or mulched and chipped on site. Logs of 6 inches in diameter may be left on site and stacked along the easement for use by the land owner. Stumps may be left behind. Please remove all items from easement in the area including vehicles, animals, equipment and unlock all fences and gates.
For the safety of the public and MEA’s crews, please keep clear of the work zone while crews are accessing and maintaining rights-of-way. Members are notified by mail at minimum two weeks in advance of when clearing will occur in their area and again by an automated phone call within 4 days of clearing activity on their property. Please be sure your address and phone number on your account are kept current.
2023 Clearing Plans
This year MEA Clearing and Contract Crews will be focusing easement clearing efforts in the communities of:
• Palmer (North Palmer/Bailey Hill neighborhoods, Equestrian Acres, neighborhoods on south side of PW Hwy from tsunami center to Trunk, Trunk from Palmer-Wasilla Hwy. to Palmer Fishhook, E. Industrial Way, Arctic Ave/Old Glenn out to Smith Road)
• Lazy Mountain
• Butte (Smith Road, Old Glenn from Palmer to Knik River Road, Maud Road)
• Wasilla-Fishhook Road (Seldon to Palmer-Fishhook)
• Big Lake (W. Big Lake Road and roads off of W. Big Lake Road, Northshore, W. Lakes Blvd. Horseshoe Lake, Little & Big Beaver Lakes, Rocky Lake)
When crews are ready to start clearing the rights-of-way, members in the area will receive an auto-call ahead of clearing activity in their neighborhood at least four days prior of clearing activity near their property. Our goal is to cause the least amount of disruption in your area and we appreciate you keeping easements clear of debris, fences, and animals and your cooperation throughout the maintenance process. If you have a Danger Tree located on your private property that you believe could fall into the power lines or electric equipment, please complete a Danger Tree Report and the Clearing Department will schedule a tree risk assessment and free take down of the tree(s) if they are determined to be a hazard.
To see a more detailed clearing map for your area, please click here.
Common Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Q: What trees and vegetation are removed?
A: MEA clears the full width of the utility easement which typically ranges from 20 to 30 feet (feet are split in half from each side of the pole) for standard distribution lines. During the process, crews safely clear the following:
• Vegetation located in the immediate easement,
• Vegetation blocking access to overhead or underground right of way,
• Vegetation that have contact with lines,
• Trees and vegetation that could come in contact with lines (both overhead and underground) and electrical equipment.
Q: How do I know what trees and vegetation are being cleared?
A: Before maintenance operations begin, crews conduct an inspection of the area and mark trees, vegetation and easement boundaries. Also called “flagging”, crews use different colored tape markings to indicate future actions within the easement. Please refer to the graphic below for the meanings of the flagging colors.
Q: How are members notified about clearing that may impact them?
A: MEA provides notification to members and property owners who may be impacted by clearing operations in their area with a postcard notification and an auto-call well in advance of clearing activities. Members will receive a mailer ahead of clearing activity in their neighborhood at least two weeks in advance and an auto-call at least four days prior of clearing activity near their property.
Spruce Bark Beetle Danger Tree Mitigation
MEA is proactively working to remove danger Spruce Bark Beetle kill trees throughout our service territory. In 2019, clearing crews cleared more than 8,100 hazardous spruce bark beetle killed trees. Much of the clearing work in the summer will include take down of infested spruce bark beetle killed trees inside of the easements, especially in the highly infested areas throughout Willow and along Willow Fishhook Road.
Do you have a potentially hazardous spruce bark beetle tree on your property?
To take down spruce bark beetle killed trees outside of the easements, MEA must receive written permission from the property owner. MEA asks members to provide a danger tree report to help us in our efforts to mitigate hazardous spruce bark beetle killed trees and other vegetation that may impact our lines and equipment.
To report a Danger Tree on your property, please complete the Danger Tree Report fields located in the Safety section of our website.
For assistance with the Danger Tree Report form, please contact the MEA Clearing Department at 907-761-9269 or email clearingdepartment@mea.coop