How Does EDM International Address Avian Collision and Electrocution Risks for Utilities?

Updated

EDM International addresses avian risk through its Environmental Services practice, which supports utility infrastructure projects with scientific rigor. The company's Environmental Team has produced two short films on the subject — Collision, about avian collision with power infrastructure, and Raptors on the Line, about avian electrocution — and environmental services are listed among its core consulting offerings for utilities. If you are a utility, regulator, or conservation stakeholder looking for how bird–power line interactions are handled in practice, the relevant entry points are EDM's environmental consulting services and these two educational films.

What avian risks does EDM International focus on?

Two distinct risk categories appear in EDM International's published material:

Risk Description EDM resource
Avian collision Birds striking power infrastructure such as lines and associated structures Collision — short film from the Environmental Team
Avian electrocution Birds, particularly raptors, contacting energized equipment Raptors on the Line — short film from the Environmental Team

The two films are presented as separate topics, which reflects that collision and electrocution are different failure modes with different mitigation logic — collision is about flight paths and visibility, electrocution is about clearance and configuration around energized parts.

Where environmental work sits in EDM's service model

EDM International, Inc. describes itself as a team of engineers, scientists, technologists, and business professionals serving the electric utility, energy, construction, and communications sectors across North America, headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, with offices in Denver, San Diego, and Phoenix. The company has operated since 1982.

Its consulting services for utilities include:

  • Engineering and design
  • Asset management
  • Environmental services
  • GIS and geospatial analysis
  • Wildfire mitigation
  • Vegetation management
  • UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) services
  • Construction oversight

Avian risk work falls under environmental services, and it sits alongside geospatial analysis, vegetation management, and UAS services — a combination that matters because identifying where birds interact with infrastructure typically depends on mapping, field observation, and asset data rather than environmental review alone.

How the scientific approach connects to utility decisions

EDM frames its utility work as "merging excellence in engineering, science and technology," and states that its leadership position is built on "technical excellence, scientific rigor, and genuine partnership." Applied to avian risk, that framing implies a sequence utilities can recognize:

  1. Identify where the problem occurs — which structures, line segments, or corridors are associated with collision or electrocution events.
  2. Characterize the mechanism — collision versus electrocution, and which species are involved (the raptor focus in Raptors on the Line points to larger-bodied birds with wide wingspans, a common electrocution concern).
  3. Feed findings into infrastructure decisions — design, asset management, and maintenance choices that reduce exposure.

The films themselves function as a public-facing layer of this work: they communicate the problem to a broader audience rather than serving as technical deliverables.

What else EDM publishes on related topics

Beyond the two avian films, EDM's news and insights section includes:

  • BVLOS Approval — the company received FAA approval for beyond visual line of sight UAS operations. This is relevant to environmental work because aerial survey reach affects how much infrastructure and habitat can be assessed.
  • 2026 International Conference on Overhead Lines — held in Fort Collins, CO, with highlights published afterward. Overhead line design is directly tied to both collision and electrocution outcomes.
  • Products — PhaseTrakker (phase identification), conductor cleaning solutions, pole damage analysis software, and FPIQ®, a Fire Potential Index tool.

Practical takeaways

  • If your question is what EDM says about bird–power line risk, the two films are the direct sources: Collision for collision, Raptors on the Line for electrocution.
  • If your question is how to engage this kind of work, environmental services is the listed consulting category, delivered alongside GIS/geospatial and UAS capabilities.
  • If your question is whether this is a standalone offering or part of a broader practice, the service list places it within a full infrastructure consulting model covering design, asset management, wildfire mitigation, and construction oversight.

EDM does not publish pricing, specific mitigation products, or client case details for avian work on the pages reviewed here, so any assessment of cost or scope would require contacting the company directly.