{"id":74899,"date":"2020-02-20T11:19:17","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T18:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bps-collaboration-with-colorado-to-offset-wildlife-impacts-wraps-up\/"},"modified":"2020-02-20T18:19:17","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T18:19:17","slug":"bps-collaboration-with-colorado-to-offset-wildlife-impacts-wraps-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bps-collaboration-with-colorado-to-offset-wildlife-impacts-wraps-up\/","title":{"rendered":"BP\u2019s collaboration with Colorado to offset wildlife impacts wraps up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Through
Through a collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, BP America Production Co. placed hundreds of acres into permanent conservation easements, some of which will protect winter range for elk.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

This year will mark the end of one of Colorado\u2019s most innovative efforts to offset the impacts to wildlife from BP America Production Co.\u2019s natural gas drilling in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

In 2007, the state set standards for oil and gas companies to minimize impacts to wildlife and required that they consult with the Division of Wildlife (now Colorado Parks and Wildlife) if they wanted to drill in an area deemed important for wildlife.<\/p>\n

But for large companies with a substantial stake in a particular oil and gas field, the state standards allowed for a landscape mitigation plan.<\/p>\n

The plan would benefit operators by streamlining permitting. For wildlife, the plan analyzed the broader landscape as opposed to each individual site.<\/p>\n

Southwest Colorado, with its large deer and elk herds and vast natural gas reserves in the San Juan Basin, was the perfect candidate for the mitigation plan, said Jon Holst, energy liaison for CPW\u2019s Southwest Colorado region.<\/p>\n

\"Brian
Brian Magee with Colorado Parks and Wildlife releases a golden eagle that was injured by a car. BP America Production Co.\u2019s collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife helped the agency study impacts of natural gas drilling on wildlife in the region.<\/span>Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

And no company made a better partner than the largest operator in the region, BP America Production Co.<\/p>\n

In the late 2000s, Parks and Wildlife, with the Nature Conservancy, teamed with BP to work on a plan for Southwest Colorado, surveying the energy giant\u2019s potential development in the region while looking for crucial wildlife habitat that could be preserved in the process.<\/p>\n

The result, Holst said, was a plan that required BP to place as many acres in a conservation easement as the company planned for oil and gas development. If BP wanted to drill in highly sensitive areas to wildlife, that ratio could be as high as 5 conserved acres to every 1 developed acre.<\/p>\n

Over six years, BP agreed to contribute $475,000 for studies examining the impacts natural gas development had on the region\u2019s wildlife. The funds have been used to learn about deer, elk and even bald eagle migration patterns, Holst said.<\/p>\n

In turn, BP was allowed to apply for blocks of facilities rather than one at a time.<\/p>\n

BP did not return requests seeking comment for this story. In a 2011 statement, Jerry Austin, then the San Juan area operations manager for BP, lauded the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud to enter into a plan that not only incorporates operational changes but also provides actual land preservation,\u201d Austin said. \u201cThis collaborative effort allows for more long-term development planning and wildlife preservation that is designed and customized specifically for the San Juan Basin.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all, BP built 127 facilities, wells and pipelines that affected about 350 acres after the agreement was put in place. Throughout the basin, BP operates about 1,390 wells in Colorado and another 2,440 wells in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

In turn, the company has placed about 418 acres in permanent conservation easements.<\/p>\n

More recently, BP in 2017 preserved about 187 acres off County Road 523 near the HD Mountains as open space that was seen as an important winter range for elk and deer.<\/p>\n

\"As
As part of a collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, BP America Production Co. placed 187 acres near the HD Mountains into a conservation easement. The open space is used as winter range by elk and deer.<\/span>Courtesy of La Plata Open Space Conservancy, file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe contributions highlight BP\u2019s ongoing commitment to mitigating the impact of its operations on the environment and to working with local communities,\u201d a BP spokesman wrote to The Durango Herald<\/em> at the time.<\/p>\n

Despite the effort, Southwest Colorado\u2019s elk and deer herds struggle. But Holst said it\u2019s not fair to blame oil and gas development.<\/p>\n

Habitat loss from residential and commercial development, recreation such as hiking and hunting, as well as drought all play a role in big game\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just one thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI wish we could deal with all types of development with a landscape mitigation approach like we did with BP. That would be ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to protecting rangeland, the agreement created \u201cbest management practices\u201d for BP operations, which included automating well operations to limit truck traffic, storing drilling waste in closed tanks and drilling multiple wells from one pad when possible.<\/p>\n

The net gain of the collaborative, he said, is substantial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis allowed higher quality properties for wildlife we wouldn\u2019t have gotten otherwise,\u201d Holst said. \u201cIf we had to do it again, yeah, we\u2019d do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

But now, the project is ending. Late last year, BP announced it was selling its stake in the San Juan Basin to a European renewable energy company. The sell-off is part of a trend in the natural gas field, which was one of the largest producers in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\"BP
BP America Production Co.\u2019s collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife helped the agency study the impacts of natural gas drilling on wildlife in the region. In one study, the agency tracked five bald eagles and one golden eagle in Southwest Colorado. Wildlife managers say the project will help them make recommendations for how new developments can ease their impact on eagle habitat.<\/span>Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Increasingly, mainstay companies like BP, ConocoPhillips and Williams Partners are dropping out of the San Juan Basin, and smaller companies are taking their place.<\/p>\n

The collaborative between the state and BP was one of the first of its kind, certainly for the Southwest. And while it set a model that works, for smaller companies, it\u2019s not as financially possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time there\u2019s a new operator, we talk about an approach like this,\u201d Holst said. \u201cBut so far, no one is willing because the economics don\u2019t add up. That\u2019s one of the benefits of a larger operator. You can do stuff like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

jromeo @durangoherald.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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