Ecological stewardship is an integral part of Marathon’s commitment to Responsible Care®. Through its Wildlife Habitat Program, Marathon improves the appearance of its properties, supports unique ecosystems and provides opportunities for environmental education and community involvement. Marathon presently has 15 wildlife sites that are certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council. Several other locations have initiated projects that are expected to result in certification.
Catlettsburg, Kentucky
In 1994, the 320-acre Catlettsburg Refining Savage Branch Wildlife Reserve became the first Marathon site to achieve certification. Savage Branch lies to the west of the Big Sandy River on the Kentucky/West Virginia border. The reserve property encompasses more than 50 acres, heavily wooded with coniferous and deciduous forests, as well as some open fields. The topography is hilly, with peaks reaching 1,020 feet above sea level. The employee wildlife team manages the site for wildlife habitat.
Since receiving Corporate Lands for Learning® certification in 1999, the Catlettsburg team has continued to foster a strong relationship with area schools by offering a variety of education programs on and off-site. Students are invited to the Savage Branch Wildlife Reserve where they can investigate pond and forest habitats. While exploring these habitats students discover concepts and processes such as forest succession, habitat requirements, interdependence, life cycles, and decomposition.
Big Spring, Kentucky
Marathon Pipeline LLC has partnered with a private landowner to manage approximately four acres of pipeline right-of-way near Big Spring, Kentucky. This site, which was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2001, supports native grasses, legumes and small grains which provide food and cover for terrestrial game birds and mammals.
Cane Run Terminal
The staff of Marathon Petroleum LLC’s asphalt terminal in Cane Run, Kentucky, manages several acres of woodland and pond on property overlooking the Ohio River. This project, which was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2002, protects valuable stream bank habitat corridor along this great river.
Mt. Vernon Terminal
Certified in 2009, Marathon’s Mt. Vernon (Ohio) Asphalt Terminal occupies approximately 32 acres, with 5.5 acres actively managed for wildlife. The site features a small creek that connects to the Ohio River, as well as a retention pond. Seventeen nest boxes provide habitat for native birds. The wildlife team also has dedicated several plots for food sources for wildlife. A motion detection camera is used to photograph wildlife and has helped in updating the site's species list.
Nashville Terminal
Certified since 2007, the Nashville (Tennessee) Asphalt Terminal Wildlife Habitat, which lies adjacent to the Cumberland River, consists of approximately six acres that are predominantly grassland,. More than one acre of the property is dedicated to wildlife habitat enhancement initiatives. And most of the site's employees are involved in wildlife habitat enhancement projects.
There are two areas that are currently being enhanced for wildlife, an upper and a lower habitat. The upper habitat consists of well-established native prairie grasses and wildflowers. The wildlife team has created additional wildlife habitat by planting southeastern wildflowers in a new area, referred to as the lower habitat. The wildlife team has an established nest box program, which targets eastern bluebirds, tree swallows and wrens. The wildlife team expanded the nest box program by creating artificial nesting structures for additional species, including purple martins and eagles.
Invasive species removal goals involve the eradication of Chinese privet in the brushy area bordering the river. By removing this invasive species, wildlife team members hope to promote the growth of additional native vegetation.
Findlay Office Complex
The staff at the Marathon Petroleum LLC’s corporate headquarters maintains a wildlife habitat site at their Findlay, Ohio, office complex. Encompassing roughly one-fifth of an acre, and within the shadow of surrounding multi-story office buildings, the Courtyard Garden, and Flag Plaza Garden are host to a variety of native plants that attract birds and butterflies. This site was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2000 and re-certified in 2002 and 2007.
The Findlay Office Complex (FOC) participates in both the Adopt-A-Highway and Adopt-A-Park programs. The Adopt-A-Highway program is offered through the Ohio Department of Transportation and calls for a two-year commitment to pick up litter four times a year on a two-mile stretch of highway. The Adopt-A-Park Program is a partnership with the Hancock County Park District in which the FOC adopted Oak Woods Park in Findlay. Marathon assists with trail restoration, installation of interpretive panels, supplemental plantings for the wildlife habitat, pruning and litter clean-up.
Garyville Refinery
The staff of Marathon’s Garyville, Louisiana refinery initiated an extensive wildlife habitat management plan encompassing in excess of three hundred acres of forested wetland and wetland meadow in a backwater bayou of the Mississippi River. The presence of alligators, cottonmouth snakes, banana spiders and other delightful creatures makes this project, which was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2002, a field of dreams for biology students.
Martinsville Station
The staff at Martinsville (Illinois) Pipeline Station manages a wildlife habitat program that encompasses more than 250 acres of woodlands, farmland, open meadows, wetland and aquatic habitat in eastern Illinois. This site, which was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 1999, supports a multitude of flowers and plants that are common to the region. The primary focus of the project is managing the property for quail and other associated game and wild species.
North Muskegon Terminal
The North Muskegon, Michigan, site consists of 14 acres in the floodplain of the Muskegon River, a major fly-over area for migratory waterfowl, which sustains healthy populations of lake-run steelhead trout and salmon. The project is managed by the volunteer efforts of the terminal staff and was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2002.
Robinson Refinery
The employees of Marathon’s Robinson, Illinois, refinery maintain three wildlife habitat sites within the local communities; Washington Park, Hutsonville Grade School, and Marathon’s Neil Pit Facility. Washington Park and Hutsonville Grade School are both adjacent to local schools and provide outdoor classroom settings for the teachers and students. Washington Park was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2005 and Hutsonville Grade School was certified in 2008. Marathon’s Neil Pit facility encompasses 40 acres of wooded prairie grass habitat that provide natural habitat for turkey, deer and quail. The Neil Pit facility was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2006 and was the recipient of the Wildlife habitat Council’s Wild Turkey Management Award in 2007.
Speedway SuperAmerica headquarters Office
The staff of Speedway SuperAmerica LLC (SSA) maintains a diverse wildlife habitat site at their corporate headquarters in Enon, Ohio. Key features of the project include an extensive rock garden encompassing more than an acre, a six-acre managed lake, and in excess of 50 acres of landscaped woodland and meadow. A few of the many projects that SSA Team Wildlife undertakes are bird nest and bat house monitoring and an annual planting of River Birch trees in honor of Arbor Day. This site was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 1999 and received three-year Habitat Program Re-certification in 2001, 2004, and 2007.
St. Paul Park Refinery
Each summer, SSA Team Wildlife members host a Catch, Tag, & Release event with local Scout Troops and a local Bass Masters Club. Approximately 50 children and adults participate by catching approximately 100 bluegill and bass fish each year. The fish are visually inspected to confirm that they are clean, ulcer-free and generally healthy. Once other important information, such as species, length, and weight, is recorded in a Fish Tag Log, the fish are tagged and released back into the pond.
The staff at Marathon’s St. Paul Park, Minnesota, refinery manages a five-acre enclave of native prairie adjacent to their property, called the Prairie Park. This project, which was certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 1998, supports indigenous, dry prairie grasses and flowers, and is host to migratory songbirds and butterflies.
Kuttawa Terminal
The Kuttawa (Kentucky) Asphalt Terminal, which occupies approximately 50 acres, sits on a wooded bluff overlooking the Cumberland River and Lake Barkley in central Lyon County, Kentucky. The terminal received certification in 2004. The Kuttawa wildlife team established a five-year wildlife habitat enhancement strategy. The group's goals include the preservation and maintenance of all existing high-quality habitats on-site; the development of a bat management program; the restoration of agricultural and regularly mowed fields into habitats that will benefit a variety of wildlife and reduce long-term maintenance costs; the documentation of site wildlife activities; and the continued development of partnerships to increase education and outreach possibilities.