Employees at Lafarge N.A.'s Whitehall (Pa.) cement plant received international recognition recently for their contributions to wildlife habitat conservation at the Wildlife Habitat Council's 15th Anniversary Symposium. The company was acknowledged for its commitment to environmental stewardship and increasing native biodiversity by achieving habitat certification at the plant.

The property on which the main production facility at Whitehall is located dedicates about 400 acres to wildlife, including various ecological habitats areas, ranging from leased agricultural lands to woodlands and open lake areas.

The wildlife team's first project at the plant was to initiate a nest box monitoring program. In April 2002, the team built and placed a number of bluebird and wood duck nest boxes. Additional nest box habitat areas were identified at the time, and additional boxes were placed in 2003. Employees also instituted a rotational mowing schedule and began an invasive species management project.