Ameren Wiped Out Trees Behind Homes, Like Creek Bank Clearing

Investigation along the lengthy row of Ameren's high-voltage towers in Chesterfield, showed established trees were felled behind residents homes at the same time the creek banks were cleared at Schoettler Road.

Last week, someone  habitats by clearing the banks of the creek of all vegetation.

See accompanying photos

A resident on Squires Way said Thursday she had no warning the trees and brush were coming down and out, just feet behind her home of 35 years. It was mid-May, she said.

Behind houses on Squires Way the remaining tree stumps looked to be about 15-24 inches in diameter. The towers and cleared areas run up the hill from Schoetter Road, down toward Cedarmill, and up the hill again toward Baxter Road.

The resident said she first assumed the Ameren workers were trimming the trees as usual. But this time, everying was removed—scorched earth style.

There was already a grassy swath of property behind the houses about 250 yards wide, by Chesterfield Patch estimates. The towers run down the center. The property is likely subdivision common ground and/or Ameren right-of-way. 

Standing beneath the high-voltage wires and towers, you can hear crackles and zaps of electricity.

The same Squires Way resident, who did not want to be named, said she initially dreaded the sight of all the clearing, but said it wasn't as bad as she had imagined it would be.

She said the neighbor on the far side of the clearing has a nice stand of pine trees at the edge of his backyard, so she can look at those. She also wondered where all the deer she used to see in the formerly wooded area would go.

An Ameren Missouri spokesman said Tuesday that the utiltity company was going to replant the creek banks at Schoettler with grass, in keeping with the rest of the adjoining common ground of Greenleaf Estates—where the creek runs and the towers stand alongside.

Ameren said the clearing was a proactive measure in the event of weather storms that could tangle wires in vegetation or block access to towers.

The Squires Way resident speculated that the total removal of the trees would eliminate frequent trimming and other maintenance around the towers.

Another Chesterfield Patch user that the power lines are very important to provide electric to great numbers of people, and keeping them viable was key—even if it included clearing large areas of vegetation.