PIPELINE RECLAMATION REQUIREMENTS

• Interim reclamation: Achieve healthy biologically active topsoil, control erosion, and restore habitat.

• Final reclamation: Achieve habitat, forage, and hydrologic functions that existed prior to disturbance.

• (BLM: Pinedale Anticline 2008 ROD)

Mechanized Reclamation

Soil condition left by mechanized reclamation

Reclamation with goats

• Goal: Take care of the land to build the soil so it can produce the kinds of plants that we want to grow.

Weeds aren’t THE problem

• Weeds are the symptom of another problem:

• Multi-year drought, grazing pressure and unsuccessful reclamation efforts which have left poor soil that has no organic matter to support good growth.

What do goats do?

• Remove annual and perennial weeds AND• Through their defecation, urination, weight and

body heat on the ground, goats: • Improve soil microbe diversity• Restore alkali soils• Create more insect diversity• Increase organic matter• Decrease bare ground/erosion• Create more plant diversity• Improve water cycle function

Watershed management:

• An increase of 1% organic matter in soil is equivalent to 60,000 gallons of water/acre which is equivalent to 10 inches of rainfall/year held in the soil.

Original condition of land

• Insert a picture here of land before goats (hopefully a pipeline corridor)

Signs of success

Enter a new land management and reclamation twist: Sage Grouse

• The US Department of Interior is under a court order to consider listing the Greater Sage Grouse as a threatened or endangered species in all or a significant portion of its range, including populations in Wyoming…

• The State of Wyoming has endeavored to conserve Greater Sage Grouse populations in order to retain State management authority over the species.

Sage Grouse Core Population Areas

• Any pipelines existing or built in these core areas will be subject to greater scrutiny for reclamation success.

• Successful reclamation could be the key to ensuring ongoing habitat disturbance in the core areas on new pipelines or ongoing oil and gas drilling activity.

Governor Freudenthal’s Executive Order (August, 2008)

• …accelerate or enhance required reclamation in habitats adjacent to Core Sage Grouse Population Areas …

• …on-the-ground enhancements, monitoring and ongoing planning relative to sage grouse and sage grouse habitat should be facilitated…

What can we help pipeline companies do?

• 1. ID your reclamation needs (existing and new projects), with eye on Sage Grouse core areas, if necessary

• 2. Critically review your success rate on lands and cost/acre from current reclamation strategy

• 3. Prepare an assessment of the problems: – Gather base-line data on soil condition (moisture content, nitrogen

loading, ph, etc.), problem weeds, influencing factors.– Evaluate options and corporate goals to improve soil and habitat

health to the conditions necessary to meet federal and state requirements.

4. Develop and select long-term course of action– Base on costs and results, with identified measures of success. – Establish periodic monitoring protocols for internal use, as well as

use with BLM and State, to show on-the-ground improvement.

Goats on pipeline easement