# Presentation: 622557

## Wildlife Management

- U.S. Department of the Interior
- Bureau of Land Management

**Wildlife Management**

- Updated: April 2008

## BMPs Minimize Wildlife Habitat Fragmentation and Loss

**Typical BMPs May Include:**
- Reducing  the Initial and Interim Size of Roads, Utilities, & Well Pads
- Corridoring Pipes and Power in the road.
- Drilling Multiple Wells from a Single Well Pad
- Eliminating Hazards to Wildlife
- Reducing Noise
- Centralizing Production Facilities
- Remote Production Monitoring

## Pad Design to Minimize Disturbance

- Area:  1.3 acres
- Total Dirt Moved:
- 10,520 cy yd

- Pads do _not_ have to be rectangular.

- Area:  1.0 acres
- Total Dirt Moved:
-     5,010 cy yd

-       Result 
- Less disturbance
- Less habitat loss
- Less reclamation
- Less cost to build

**Rectangle**

**A Shape Which Fits the Landscape**

## Interim Reclamation

**Short-term reclamation that occurs as the well is beginning initial production of oil and/or gas.  Includes partially reshaping and revegetating roads, and well pads to reduce the amount of bare ground created during construction and drilling activity.**
- To minimize habitat loss and fragmentation, re-establish as much habitat as possible by maximizing the area reclaimed during well production operations.  In many cases, this “interim” reclamation can cover nearly the entire site, including the road and right up to the facilities.

**Why Stop at 1.3 Acres?**
- Reduce the producing well pad in size as much as possible to maximize habitat restoration.

**Gray = Unreclaimed           Pink = Recontoured and seeded**

## Interim Reclamation - A Paradigm Shift

**It is okay to set up well workover operations on, or park on, **
**the restored wellsite or roadside interim vegetation.**
- Limit activities to only the area that is necessary. To avoid fires, consider mowing the vegetation where you will park. Repair the damage and revegetate when you are done.

_***Question***_***:  ***“But aren’t you are damaging the new vegetation?!?”
_**Answer**_**:**  Yes, but it is temporary and minor damage.  Keep in mind, the operator has the right to develop the lease and maintain production operations within reasonable constraints. Future well maintenance operations will use far less land surface area than do the original drilling operations.
**And Consider this:**
- _What causes less loss of habitat_:
- A one or two acre well pad left _barren_ for 40 years of oil or gas production, _or_
- Revegetating the _entire_ well location, knowing that _a small portion of it_ will sustain vehicle traffic and temporary vegetation damage during future production and maintenance operations?

- Parking on the vegetation.
- (It will green-up next spring.)

## Interim Reclamation

- If the disturbed areas are covered with topsoil and seeded with appropriate amounts and varieties of native species, over time, local natives will typically reestablish themselves on the site, helping to restore proper species composition and structure.

**Steps:**
- 1. Fully recontour unneeded areas to the original contour or a contour that blends with the surrounding topography;
- 2. Respread topsoil over entire pad;
- 3. Revegetate to reestablish habitat.

**Area of **
**Formerly Barren Well Pad**

- Well Box

**Interim Reclamation**

- Well Box

- Interim reclamation should begin shortly after construction or establishing oil or gas production on the site.

## Interim Reclamation – Good and Bad Examples

- _Good_...
- + Vegetation reestablishing
- on pad close to facilities.
- + Concentrate facilities near the entrance road to maximize area for interim & final reclamation.

- _Not so Good_...
- - Bare ground out to the rig anchors.
- - Long-term loss of habitat and forage.
- - Maintenance problems including mud & weeds.

- Unrevegetated Bare Ground

- Seeded and Growing

- Seed with the proper species, varieties, and amounts of seed.
- The use of native species is preferred.  Consider adding shrubs and forbs to the seed mixture, where appropriate, to reestablish habitat.

- Reclaimed - Interim

- Reclaimed - Final

****

## Interim Reclamation of Roads

**The Standard Road:**
- Ditches erode each time it rains.  Annual maintenance including blading and weed control is required.

**With Interim Reclamation:**
- Oversize borrow ditches covered with topsoil and seeded.  Consider seeding the road surface for low use roads.  Forage and habitat is partially restored.
- (Along high speed or high traffic roads, avoid planting species that may attract wildlife.)

-                     

-                     

## Interim Reclamation of Roads

- Respread Topsoil On All Road Cut and Fill Slopes and Revegetate to Ensure Slope Stability, Erosion Control, Restoration of Forage & Habitat, Maintenance of Visual Resources, and Topsoil Viability.

**Interim Reclamation of Roads**

- Respread Topsoil to the Road Surface

-     Powerline     Pipelines       Road

- Adding Topsoil to the Fill Slope

- Submersible Pump

**Two-track road with **
**buried power and**
**flowlines in the road.**

- In some cases, low volume,
- two-track roads may be the suitable choice and create the least fragmentation of habitat.

- 

**In the BLM 9113 Manual,  it states:** Bureau roads must be designed to an appropriate standard _no higher than necessary_ to accommodate their intended functions...

**Minimize Roads**

- Consider:
- Average daily traffic (ADT)
- load, vehicle size, soil type, topography,
- weather, season of use, safety, etc...

## Emerging Practices Under Study To Reduce Reclamation Costs & Speed Recovery

- Mats Removed – Wet Site
-     1Year
-       Ago   **/**  This Year

- Mats Removed – Dry Site

**With Mat    /   No Mat**

**Recovery Rates**

- Use of Oak Mats for Pads and Roads

## Hub & Spoke w/ Oak Mat Pads

**Hub & Spoke w/ Oak Mat Pads**

- Mats Removed 

**Pad Removed From Here**

-  Mat

-  Mat 

-  Mat

-  Mat

-  Mat

-  Mat

-  Mat Removed

-  Mat

- Flowering sagebrush one year after
- mat pads removed.

****

****

## Centralized Fracturing & Water Piping

**  ****This central frac pad will serve many well pads, up to four miles away.**
-  Therefore, each well pad can be smaller, because it no longer has to be constructed large enough to hold many frac tanks.
**  ****Centralized water storage is piped to the frac pad.**
-  Therefore,  over 90 water truck trips per day are eliminated during the fracturing process.

****** ****Water line**

****** ****Frac pad**

******Well pad**

## Drilling Multiple Wells On An Individual Well PadDrilling multiple wells from a single well pad reduces the footprint of oil and gas activity in wildlife habitat.

- Photo of _16_ Wells on _1_ Well Pad...
**The result:**   Construction of _15_ fewer well pads, _15_ fewer roads, _15_ fewer power lines, and reduced maintenance cost.

- The feasibility of directional drilling is dependent on the subsurface geology and the depth of the hole.

## Centralized Production Facilities

- Run gathering lines (oil, gas, water, condensate) to centralized production facilities placed offsite, away from sensitive resources and habitat.
**The Result:**
- Year-round truck traffic to each individual well is significantly reduced.
- Therefore, you may be able to use lower road standards which may result in less loss of habitat.
- There is less disturbance to wildlife because large haul trucks are not running to each well location during critical wildlife time periods to collect fluids.

- Example of a centralized fracturing facility that will become a centralized production facility to service many wells and eliminate many thousands of truck trips.

## Remote Monitoring

- Remote telemetry of wells and related production equipment can reduce the number of maintenance and inspection trips made during critical time periods for wildlife and result in less wildlife disturbance.

******Antenna**

- Natural gas compressor with electronic monitoring.

## Line Placement – Reduce Fragmentation of Habitat

- Bury power, flow, and pipe lines in or adjacent to the road to eliminate cross-country vegetation clearing and resulting habitat fragmentation.

- The utility corridor on the right not only fragments habitat, but also reduces the scenic quality.

## Burying Lines & Utilities

- Plowing and pulling pipes and lines into the ground in certain soil types will disturb much less ground and vegetation than excavating and trenching.

- Plow  mark 

- Standard Method

- Plowing Method

## Utilities – Protect Wildlife

- In important sage-grouse habitat and prairie dog towns, discourage raptor perching by using anti-perching devices.

- Raptors perching on power poles can be electrocuted.  Perches also provide easier hunting for raptors that prey on BLM sensitive species, such as sage-grouse.

- This is a device to prevent raptor perching.

- For additional information, refer to:  “Suggested Practices for Raptor Protection on Power Lines: The State of the Art in 1996”  http://www.eei.org/products_and_services/descriptions_and_access/suggested_pract.htm

## Minimize Noise

- Noise can deter wildlife from using an area.
-  Use noise reduction mufflers to comply with noise standards.
-  Also, consider using earthen berms, walls, sheds, and/or distance to reduce sound levels in important habitats.

- 4-Side, Open Compressor Building

- 4-Side, Closed Compressor Building

- Photo courtesy of:  Acoustical Control Inc.

## Development Planning

- Planned Development can reduce unnecessary disturbance by reducing unnecessary roads in important habitat.  A **Field Development Plan** should address sensitive area avoidance or mitigation, potential road, utility, and well locations, road classes, plans for interim and final reclamation.

- None of the road shortcuts are necessary.

- Plan the main road system prior to development.

- (Photo Simulation)

## In important wildlife areas and during critical wildlife use periods consider:  -Seasonal restriction of public vehicular access in new development areas such as dead-end, well access roads or designated portions of the field. -Operator enforced speed limits during critical seasons.-Using shuttle vans and buses to transport drilling rig workers and field service personnel.

**Reduce Vehicle Traffic**

- Frequent vehicular use... creates dust which degrades habitat, produces noise which disturbs wildlife, causes direct mortality from collisions, and requires higher class roads to accommodate increased traffic.

## Wildlife Exclosures

**Wildlife Exclosures**

- Tank and drip-pan with wildlife exclosures.

- Searching for dead birds in an **open** tank.
- Unfortunate Results:

## BMPs Must Be Correctly Designed, Monitored, and Maintained

- In this photo, there is oil in the pit and the net is down.

- It is not enough to use BMPs, they must also be properly designed, constructed, and maintained to ensure they are functioning properly.  Constant monitoring, inspection, and enforcement are required to ensure BMPs remain necessary and effective.

- This net was placed above the pit to prevent migratory waterfowl from landing in the pit in the unlikely event oil was accidentally discharged into the pit. (Oil is not permitted in pits.)
- The net has fallen down due to its poor design, construction, and a lack of maintenance and is no longer effective at  preventing wildlife access.

## Off-Site

**Off-Site**
**Habitat Mitigation**

- In some cases, the cumulative impacts of development to wildlife habitat may necessitate taking actions to enhance local or off-site habitat.  Habitat mitigation helps to reduce the impacts of habitat loss or fragmentation until full, final reclamation at the end of the oil and gas field life.

- Photo of an energy production area and an area of  wildlife habitat that could be improved to compensate for energy development.

## Wildlife Monitoring

- Each colored dot represents one deer with a GPS collar that records three times per day.
-  The blue dots represent the locations of a tagged mule deer around a winter drilling operation.

- Monitoring deer populations during winter drilling operations.  Photo overlay is a summertime photo.

- Monitoring wildlife populations is critical to confirming that our mitigation is necessary and effective.  It also provides the justification for taking new actions or avoiding unproductive actions.

## Final Reclamation

- Final reclamation begins when well production ends.  Ensure the site is recontoured, stable, and fully revegetated.  If reclamation is done correctly, over time, the habitat will restore itself.
- Remember, oil and gas development is not a permanent use of the land.

- Area of Reclaimed Well Location

- This reclaimed well pad has been recontoured (reshaped) to the pre-drilling contour, revegetated with native species, and over time will blend with the surrounding seamless landscape.

## Habitat Restoration

- Plant This
-   _Not_
- This

- Crested wheatgrass

- Each species has its own habitat needs.  Final reclamation practices should be focused on restoring important habitat where it exists.

## Final Reclamation Monitoring

- Questions to ask:
- Is the site stable from wind and water erosion?
- Has the native plant community reestablished itself over time?
- Has habitat been restored to proper species composition, size, and structure?

-  Dryhole Marker

- In this photo, the native plant community is slowly  reestablishing itself on the reclaimed well pad.  The dryhole marker indicates the old well location.
- (Avoid the use of surface dryhole markers that can serve as raptor perches.)

## In Summary: Minimize the Footprint of Energy Development

- To reduce wildlife habitat fragmentation, loss, and degradation, consider:
-  lower class roads
-  use of common corridors for roads, power, & pipes
-  smaller pads
-  interim reclamation of roads and well pads

## Hawk Nest on Tank Stairs

- Pronghorn Adjacent to Drill Rig

- Rabbit 

- Deer on Well Pad