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The Nature Conservancy Recommends Goals for Recapturing Lost Wildlife Habitat

Scientific Planning Helps Hang onto Wildlife Treasures

Pinedale, WY— May 4, 2007— As the nation's thirst for natural gas continues to drive energy development in Wyoming, concern mounts over the impacts to America's backcountry, and many Wyomingites question if damage to the landscape and the environment can truly be compensated.

The Nature Conservancy has developed a science-driven method for determining appropriate mitigation responses, and aims to help industry and land mangers think more proactively about maintaining biodiversity – ideally, before drilling projects even begin. The Conservancy's close examination of habitat throughout southwest Wyoming indicates important areas where development of any kind should be avoided, and suggests other areas comparable to sites fully impacted by oil and gas development.

The Jonah Natural Gas Field
With well pads and infrastructure covering more than 30,000 acres, southwest Wyoming’s 60,000-acre Jonah Natural Gas Field is one of the largest energy development areas in the nation. Yet, southwest Wyoming is also America’s backcountry, providing some of the richest wildlife habitat in the lower 48 states with mountains, sagebrush steppe and high desert terrain.

Over the past several months, Conservancy scientists have put more than fifty years' of planning methods to use in better understanding what’s at stake in managing offsets for surface disturbance on the Jonah Field. This model is designed to help decision makers such as the Jonah Interagency Reclamation and Mitigation Office (JIO) decide where important wildlife habitat might be conserved. Recommendations suggest optimal numbers of mountain plover, sage grouse, pronghorn, rare plants and more – and opportunities to ensure the survival of those populations, such as habitat conservation, restoration, and/or specific management practices. 

“Wyoming needs a science-based plan to hang on to the biodiversity compromised by energy development, and now we have that,” says Dr. Joe Kiesecker, the Conservancy’s lead scientist in Wyoming.

Ideally, Kiesecker says, developing the science to determine where and how to compensate for energy development would happen much earlier. “Mitigation of energy development can no longer be an afterthought,” he says. “Before development occurs, industry needs to look at the site and plan to avoid sensitive areas.” Going forward, The Nature Conservancy hopes its conservation science will be used to better plan development sites in the state.

Governor Weighs In
Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal is a vocal advocate for Wyoming’s special places and the big game that relies upon them. “Wyoming’s wildlife resources need seats in the front of the bus,” Freudenthal says. “Planning for mitigation must occur before development happens and we need to be asking more questions. Where can reclamation take place during exploration and extraction? Will that reclamation be enough? Will it be timely? Mitigation needs to be done in the right place at the right time for each species.  We have to know better where off-site projects can truly make up for what we lose – and where and when they can’t.” 

The Conservancy’s mitigation planning answers those very questions, says Kiesecker. “Using the mitigation hierarchy – avoid, minimize, reclaim, offset – we can suggest the best approach for each species impacted. Where off-site mitigation has been indicated, such as in the case of the Jonah Field, it will be critical to find areas that offset the impacts taking place.”

Freudenthal also says that there are some special places in Wyoming that cannot be replaced. In these places, off-site mitigation dollars would be best spent ensuring that they remain important natural resources – for wildlife, for ranching and for the benefit of the tourism industry that relies on Wyoming’s scenic landscapes. “Let’s direct these mitigation dollars toward projects that will better compensate for what has been lost – and help to protect the special places where development should be avoided,” says Freudenthal. 

The Conservancy’s goal-setting project is being funded by BP America Production Co., one of the principal operators on the Jonah Natural Gas Field. The methodology will help the company determine where and how best to invest in conservation at the beginning, middle and end of their development projects. The Jonah Interagency Reclamation and Mitigation Office is ultimately responsible for deciding how to spend the $25 million in off-site mitigation funds that Jonah Field operators such as Encana and BP America Production Co. have provided. Just this past week, another $36 million mitigation fund was announced by operators on the Pinedale Anticline.

The project is an example of The Nature Conservancy’s commitment to pragmatic collaboration, says Andrea Erickson Quiroz, the Conservancy’s state director in Wyoming. Quiroz says the development of off-site mitigation goals will ensure that negative effects on Wyoming’s most biologically important sites are addressed. And, that some of the Cowboy State’s unique wildlife habitats remain intact for future generations. “We’re really hoping this sets a strong precedent not only for off-site mitigation methods, but also for making future decisions about where oil and gas development occurs,” says Quiroz.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

Photo credits: © Peter Aengst (Jonah Field)