--- title: "North American Wood Pole Council: Standing Up for Utilities" id: "24568" type: "post" slug: "north-american-wood-pole-council-standing-up-for-utilities" published_at: "2014-08-08T18:59:05+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:24:26+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/08/north-american-wood-pole-council-standing-up-for-utilities/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/08/north-american-wood-pole-council-standing-up-for-utilities.md" excerpt: "The North American Wood Pole Council ranks among the most obscure of associations, but you can see its work just about everywhere you go. Read on for some fun factoids about a trade group specifically for wooden utility poles." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "IT Infrastructure" - "trade associations" - "utilities" - "utility poles" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » North American Wood Pole Council: Standing Up for Utilities Every good wire deserves a way to keep it strung safely above ground. Fortunately, the North American Wood Pole Council (NAWPC) is on the case. The trade group, which represents the manufacturers of the more than 100 million wooden utility poles in the U.S. (that’s one pole for every three Americans), is facing a few challenges. Read more about the industry below: **A famous inventor:** The history of the utility pole [dates to the 1840s (opens in a new tab)](http://historywired.si.edu/detail.cfm?ID=324) , when telegraph inventor Samuel Morse found that his efforts to bury a cable between Baltimore and Washington, DC, were ineffective. Morse used a series of poles to communicate between the two cities, first sending a message from the U.S. Supreme Court to Baltimore on May 24, 1844. (Not to be outdone, [Thomas Edison (opens in a new tab)](http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Edison%27s_Electric_Light_and_Power_System) invented a successful method for installing underground wires.) > It’s just a complete fallacy to think wood poles won’t be here 100 or 200 years from now. They are the backbone of our infrastructure. **Reputation and risks:** In recent years, however, the utility pole—which now carries numerous kinds of cables, including thicker coaxial and fiber-optic wires—has taken some hits to its reputation. “Those who have grown up in the U.S. generally don’t notice them–-–or how unsightly they look,” *Slate* contributor Mark Vanhoenacker [wrote last year (opens in a new tab)](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2013/10/30/utility_poles_should_we_send_them_underground.html) . “But visitors from abroad are often astonished. In much of the rest of the rich world, utility lines are hidden, underground and out of sight.” More troublesome are the potential risks the poles pose during storms—something that became a major concern after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast and [large, hurricane-resistant poles were put in place (opens in a new tab)](http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/03/03/towering-utility-poles-cause-high-anxiety-on-long-islands-east-end/) . Rather than reassuring the public, the safety measure led to worries that if the 65- to 70-foot poles fell, they could crash into houses. **Defending utility poles:** NAWPC [notes that utility poles mostly stood tall (opens in a new tab)](http://www.woodpoles.org/FAQ-America.html#environmental) during [2005’s record hurricane season (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2005atlan.shtml) , which caused significant damage in Gulf Coast states, and that “utilities in these states reported comparable failure rates of wood poles and non-wood poles.” (And the poles were easy to replace, too. [A fact sheet notes (opens in a new tab)](http://www.woodpoles.org/documents/Ten_features_of_wood_poles.pdf) [PDF] that within a month of Hurricane Katrina, the industry had delivered 92,000 wood poles and 90,000 wood cross arms to the affected area.) As for aesthetic complaints, the group says the poles get a bad rap. “We prevent the discrimination that is often being cast upon us in preference for those other products,” NAWPC Administrative Vice President Dallin Brooks [told U.S. News and World Report (opens in a new tab)](http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/08/05/good-wood-trade-group-stands-up-for-utility-poles) . “It’s just a complete fallacy to think wood poles won’t be here 100 or 200 years from now. They are the backbone of our infrastructure.” Brooks added that the wooden poles’ lower cost make them a more efficient option than steel poles or underground wiring. That point is supported by a [2013 study (opens in a new tab)](http://www.eei.org/issuesandpolicy/electricreliability/undergrounding/Documents/UndergroundReport.pdf) [PDF] by the Edison Electric Institute that found that underground power lines come with higher costs and structural issues of their own. “As recent experiences with Hurricane Sandy demonstrate, underground facilities are very vulnerable to flooding and water damage,” the study stated. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#IT Infrastructure](https://associationsnow.com/tag/it-infrastructure/) [#trade associations](https://associationsnow.com/tag/trade-associations/) [#utilities](https://associationsnow.com/tag/utilities/) [#utility poles](https://associationsnow.com/tag/utility-poles/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: All for the Love of Chicago: Rethinking the Destination ExperienceSeptember 10, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/10/associations-now-presents-all-for-the-love-of-chicago-rethinking-the-destination-experience/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F08%2F08%2Fnorth-american-wood-pole-council-standing-up-for-utilities%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !