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New guide suggests more wildlife friendly reclamation choices

FARMINGTON,W.Va. — The boom in natural gas drilling in West Virginia is clearly evident anywhere north of Flatwoods.  Hotels and motels are nearly sold out as gas workers from throughout the country bed down for the night.  Highways are flooded with service trucks and the landscape is dotted with drilling rigs.

The well pads are signs of progress to many and if properly handled can be progress for wildlife in West Virginia. Biologists indicated in recent years one of West Virginia’s biggest problems for wildlife is a lack of habitat diversity. The vast timber and mining activity which was so prevalent in the early 20th century is now only a fraction of what it once was.  Those operations served to leave the state’s landscape in various stages of growth.  Today, a high percentage of the state is mature forest with very little early successional growth.

Although some will see pipeline rights of way and well pads as a scar, they also represent opportunity. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has worked with the oil and gas industry in hopes of capitalizing on the latter. A new publication will serve as a guide for drillers and land owners in their reclamation work.

“It’s a non-regulatory guide that helps landowners, producers, and regulating agencies to better enhance wildlife habitat after the infrastructure of oil and gas has been developed.” said Steve Rauch, one of the DNR Wildlife Biologists who helped create the guide.

The thinking here is government regulations require reclamation why not take it a step further and encourage the industry to put back the right kinds of vegetation which could leave the site in better shape than it was pre-drilling.

“This guide provides information on different seeding mixes, things that can be done with log piles and the brush that’s removed for pipeline rights of way,” said Rauch. “Other things for habitat improvement like cut back borders, water hole development, and stuff like that.”

West Virginia has precious little of that kind of habitat right now. The state has become so bereft of diverse habitat, the state has started its own timber cutting programs on wildlife management areas solely for habitat development.   The guide suggests instead of less nutritious grasses like fescue and lespedeza which are popular for erosion protection,  producers reclaim land with timothy, clover, and orchard grass.

“It depends on the situation,” said Rauch. “On steeper slopes, and we have a lot of steeper slopes, having some grasses in there is needed.  But on some of the more level slopes and reclaiming pad locations there are clovers and bird’s foot treefoil. They have to be reclaimed with vegetation so using those kind that are better for wildlife is a big positive.”

Well sites which encompass several acres can eventually become wildlife clearings, pipelines when properly seeded can become vast linear openings to benefit all species, game and non-game.

“For some species, early successional habitat is an important habitat for game and non game,” said Rauch. “This provides an opportunity to develop and enhance that type of habitat.”

The guide also offers recommendations on reforestation and adding back trees and small shrubs where appropriate.

Rauch admitted using the recommended techniques can be more costly. However he said the industry has shown great interest in the idea.

“Industry representatives were involved in developing this,” said Rauch. “They had a big part in this.  Working with them to see what needs to be done by regulation and how we can provide some other alternatives to enhance the wildlife habitat.”

Land owners have a say in how their land is restored once drilling is complete. Rauch says the guide also offers them advice on what to suggest to a drilling company and a list of contacts to answer questions and get help through the process.

The DNR and other agencies tried similar partnerships with the coal industry over the years. The results were mixed at best on using higher value plants and grasses to reclaim surface mine site.  Rauch and others hope the oil and gas industry buys in to the idea of not just reclamation, but enhancement of the landscape for the state’s native fauna.





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