Six Koch companies’ sites received Wildlife at Work
certification from Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) for successful
environmental stewardship and habitat conservation. Koch
Industries’ subsidiaries Flint Hills Resources, Georgia-Pacific,
INVISTA and Matador Cattle Company were recognized at Wildlife
Habitat Council’s annual symposium Nov. 11 in Baltimore.
Deer forage at a wildlife habitat area
created and maintained by employees of Georgia-Pacific's
containerboard mill in Monticello, Mississippi. A former baseball
field was transformed into a meadow that attracts a variety of
wildlife. (Photo: Business Wire)
Wildlife at Work certification is part of WHC’s international
accreditation program in which companies create and employees
volunteer to maintain wildlife habitat areas on corporate land.
Certification requirements are strict and require that programs
apply for periodic renewal.
“The Wildlife Habitat Council connects corporations,
conservation, and community to create habitat and increase
biodiversity. The projects honored at the symposium are the best
examples of our model at work,” said Margaret O’Gorman, Wildlife
Habitat Council president. “Congratulations to the Koch companies
for their successful efforts towards habitat enhancement and
biodiversity.”
“Koch companies and employees share a respect for our natural
resources, demonstrated by our 14-year commitment to these WHC
projects. We are very proud of the success these employee-led
conservation programs have had in protecting and enhancing the
natural areas around the facilities,” said Sheryl Corrigan,
director of environmental, health and safety for Koch Industries,
Inc.
Flint Hills Resources set aside 120 acres for its
Wildlife Learning Preserve at its Corpus Christi, Texas, site.
Employees work to maintain and enhance the preserve, which consists
of coastal marshes, fresh water ponds, upland grasses, mudflats and
mesquite brushland. A series of bird nesting boxes have been
installed and are monitored to determine the type and number of
birds on the site. This year the preserve, which includes eight bat
houses, was also nominated by WHC for the Bat Conservation Action
Award. The site originally received Wildlife at Work certification
in 2001 and also holds WHC Corporate Lands for Learning
certification.
Employees at Georgia-Pacific’s Leaf River Cellulose mill
in New Augusta manage diverse wildlife habitat areas on more than
1,000 acres in southeastern Mississippi. They have planted longleaf
pine, bluestem and Indian grass to provide better habitat for the
gopher tortoise, a federally listed threatened species. Employees
also manage habitat for purple martins and timberland to enhance
the site’s wildlife capacity in addition to maintaining pollinator
fields as a food source for wildlife. The site first received
Wildlife at Work certification in 2001 and also holds Corporate
Lands for Learning certification.
At Georgia-Pacific’s containerboard mill in Monticello,
Mississippi, about 1,600 acres are actively managed for wildlife.
The site was first certified by WHC in 1997. The efforts of
employees on the wildlife team are focused on enhancing landscaped
areas, managing wetlands and woodlands, and incorporating community
awareness and interest into the site’s program. Employees have
transformed a former baseball field into a wildlife meadow that
attracts pollinators and provides foraging habitat for white-tailed
deer and wild turkey populations.
About 12 acres of Georgia-Pacific’s Green Bay, Wisconsin,
Broadway consumer products mill site and its approximately 800-acre
landfill are being managed to enhance the wildlife
population. Employees have installed bluebird and other nest
boxes on the properties, including a nest box for peregrine
falcons, which have made their home on the mill site for several
years. They also plan to improve habitat areas to attract
additional aquatic, avian and grassland wildlife. This is the first
certification for the site.
The wildlife team at INVISTA’s Camden site, located in
Lugoff, South Carolina, maintains a 640-acre wildlife habitat area
that includes forests, grasslands, wetlands and one mile of
shoreline along the Wateree River. The nest box monitoring program
targets Eastern bluebirds, wood ducks, purple martins and
prothonotary warblers. Other wildlife seen at the site includes
screech owls, Carolina wrens, chickadees, great crested
flycatchers, nuthatches, wild turkeys and deer. This year the site
was also a finalist for WHC’s Upland Wildlife Management Award for
outstanding wild turkey management and Wings Over Wetlands Award
for protection of wetland habitat for waterfowl and other migratory
birds. Camden has been a Wildlife at Work certified site since
1992.
Matador Cattle Company’s Beaverhead Ranch covers
approximately 345,000 acres near Dillon, Montana. The ranch’s
wildlife team has re-established westslope cutthroat trout on two
miles of Bear Creek, and is working to establish the species at
Peet Creek in 2015. By following a variety of timber and grassland
management practices, Beaverhead now provides calving grounds for
hundreds of elk and supports about 5,000 head on a seasonal basis.
Other wildlife species benefited are white-tailed deer, mule deer,
antelope, and moose. In the Blacktail benches area, additional
animals benefited are coyotes, mountain lions, bears, blue herons,
sandhill cranes and bald eagles. Beaverhead is the only ranching
operation to hold Wildlife at Work certification, which it first
received in 2002.
In total, Koch companies hold 16 Wildlife Habitat Council
certifications across 12 sites.
Other Koch sites holding WHC certification are: Flint Hills
Resources in Rosemount, Minnesota, and Joliet, Illinois;
Georgia-Pacific in Big Island, Virginia, and Rincon, Georgia;
INVISTA in Waynesboro, Virginia, and Victoria, Texas.
For more information about our WHC certified sites, watch our
video http://youtu.be/exnV1-ogkc0.
About Koch Industries, Inc.
Based in Wichita, Kan., Koch Industries, Inc. is one of the
largest private companies in America with annual revenues of about
$115 billion, according to Forbes. It owns a diverse group of
companies involved in refining, chemicals, grain processing and
biofuels; forest and consumer products; fertilizers; polymers and
fibers; process and pollution control equipment and technologies;
electronic components; commodity trading; minerals; energy;
ranching; glass; and investments. Since 2003, Koch companies have
invested approximately $65 billion in acquisitions and other
capital expenditures. With a presence in about 60 countries, Koch
companies employ more than 100,000 people worldwide, with about
60,000 of those in the United States. From January 2009 to present,
Koch companies have earned more than 930 awards for safety,
environmental excellence, community stewardship, innovation, and
customer service.
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About Flint Hills Resources
Flint Hills Resources, LLC, through its subsidiaries, is a
leading refining, chemicals, grain processing and biofuels company.
www.fhr.com
About Georgia-Pacific
Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific LLC and its subsidiaries are
among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of building
products, tissue, packaging, paper, cellulose and related
chemicals. www.gp.com
About INVISTA
INVISTA is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of
chemical intermediates, polymers and fibers. The company’s
advantaged technologies for nylon, spandex and polyester are used
to produce clothing, carpet, car parts and countless other everyday
products. www.INVISTA.com
About Matador Cattle Company and Beaverhead Ranch
Matador Cattle Company operates three ranches: Beaverhead in
Montana, Matador in Texas and Spring Creek in Kansas, totaling more
than 460,000 acres. Beaverhead Ranch was originally established in
1865 in an area that had been earlier traversed by the Lewis and
Clark expedition.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20141218006468/en/
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLCKeturah Austin,
316-828-5227Manager, Corporate
Communicationsketurah.austin@kochps.com