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Successful Ecological Restoration Provides Diverse
Benefits to Public, Local Government and Industry
Tamera Minnick, PhDColorado Mesa University
Grand Junction, Colorado
Richard Alward, PhDAridlands Natural Resource Consulting
Grand Junction, Colorado
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Outline• Concepts
• Challenges
• Research Results
• Solutions
• Benefits
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Concepts• Ecosystem Structure & Function
• Exploitation
• Homogenization
• Ecosystem Services
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Concepts• Ecosystem Structure & Function
• species, diversity, producers & climate, geology, topography
• dynamics of mass, nutrients, energy, water (flows, pools, rates)
• Exploitation
• Homogenization
• Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem StructureSpecies & Complexity
Eco
syste
m F
un
cti
on
Bio
mass, N
utr
ient,
& E
nerg
y D
ynam
ics
Goal
Degraded State
Alternative Results
?
Seacoast Watershed Information Manager, modified from Meffe, G.K.,
and C. Carroll. 1997. Principles of Conservation Biology.
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Concepts• Ecosystem Structure & Function
• Exploitation
• simplifies ecosystem structure & function
• maintenance requires continual inputs
• Homogenization
• Ecosystem Services
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Concepts• Ecosystem Structure & Function
• Exploitation
• Homogenization
• undisturbed habitats are heterogeneous
• Ecosystem Services
728452 728460
4417685
4417697
soc(g/kg)
34.0
32.0
30.0
28.0
26.0
24.0
22.0
20.0
18.0
16.0
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
728178 728187
4417141
4417153
SOC(g/kg)
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
(Minnick & Alward, Ecological Applications 2015)
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Concepts
• Ecosystem Structure & Function
• Exploitation
• Homogenization
• Ecosystem Services
• human-desired outputs from ecosystems
(Palmer & Filoso, Science 2009)
The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity (www.teebweb.org)
RecreationWildlife
HabitatPollination
Erosion
Control
Waste Water
TreatmentClean WaterFood
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Outline• Concepts
• Challenges
• Research Results
• Solutions
• Benefits
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Challenges
• Well pad construction is a catastrophic ecosystem simplification
• all vegetation is removed
• soils and sub-soils are removed, homogenized & stored
• replaced soils frequently mix sub-soils with top soil
• revegetated with a simplified mix of native and non-native species
• conflicting restoration objectives & requirements
• stormwater/erosion management vs. wildlife habitat restoration
• prescriptive vs. flexible seeding times
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Challenges• Dispersed energy development
• 1-16 well pads per 640 acres
• continually adding new wells
• linear disturbances of roads and pipelines
• repeated disturbance
• Arid and Semi-arid climate
• Weeds
• Remoteness
• 50-100 miles from nearest towns
COGCC GIS Online [http://dnrwebcomapg.state.co.us/mg2010app/]
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Challenges
• Over 15,000 wells in NW CO
• of > 53,000 statewide
Grand Junction
Rangely
Rifle
Meeker
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Challenges
Grand Junction
Rangely
Rifle
Meeker
• Over 15,000 wells in NW CO
• of > 53,000 statewide
• Many within important wildlife habitat
• elk, mule deer, pronghorn, big horn sheep, cutthroat trout, eagles, sage grouse …
• And other uses
• hunting, fishing, grazing, photography, recreation all important components of economy, lifestyle, desirability of NW CO
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Outline• Concepts
• Challenges
• Research Results
• Solutions
• Benefits
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Scientific Investigations
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Loss of Ecosystem Services
(Allred, Smith, Twidwell, Haggerty, Running, Naugle & Fuhlendorf. Science 2015)
From 2000-2012, vegetation lost to oil and gas development throughout central North America
• Rangelands: forage loss equivalent to 5,000,000 AUM• > 50% of available grazing on BLM managed lands
• Croplands: crop loss equivalent to 120,200,000 bushels of wheat• = 13% of wheat exported by U.S. in 2013
• Land area: approximately 3,000,000 ha• = area of 3 Yellowstone National Parks
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Incomplete Restoration
1986 1992
1995 1996
(Simmers & Galatowitsch, Restoration Ecology 2010)
1961
Reference2004
1982
(Minnick & Alward, Ecological Applications 2015)
Even after 25 – 48 years for recovery, access roads and well
pads are still visible and distinct from their surroundings
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• Natural gas development
impacts mule deer habitat• Direct loss of habitat through surface
disturbances
• Indirect loss of habitat use due to
increased human activity (noise, traffic)
• Pinedale, WY; primarily big sagebrush and
sagebrush-grassland communities
• No evidence that mule deer
acclimated or habituated to
development(Sawyer, Nielson, Lindzey & McDonald. Journal of Wildlife Management 2006.)
Loss of Wildlife Habitat
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Media Coverage
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Reclamation or Restoration?• Reclamation
• returning mining [disturbed] lands to pre-mining conditions or to an approved post-mining beneficial use (SMCRA 1977)
• Ecological Restoration
• the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed (SER 2004) Ecosystem Structure
Species & Complexity
Eco
syste
m F
un
cti
on
Bio
mass, N
utr
ient,
& E
nerg
y D
ynam
ics
Goal
Degraded State
Alternative Results
?
Seacoast Watershed Information Manager, modified from Meffe, G.K.,
and C. Carroll. 1997. Principles of Conservation Biology.
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Outline• Concepts
• Challenges
• Research Results
• Solutions
• Benefits
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Solutions
• Performance-based Standards
• identify goals and objectives to be achieved and describe methods that can be used to demonstrate whether or not products and services meet the specified goals and objectives
• FLANGE MUST SUPPORT 150% OF MAXIMUM ANTICIPATED LOAD UNDER NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS. TEST RESULTS MUST BE POSTED ON SITE.
• Best Management Practices
• a prescriptive standard, which typically prescribes materials, design and construction methods frequently without stating goals and objectives
• FLANGE MUST BE A SPANDOMATIC MODEL X53009 AND ATTACHED USING A SPANDOTORK MODEL T-9 WELDER OPERATED BY AN ACME CERTIFIED INSTALLER.
Performance-based Standards vs. Best Management Practices
(http://cstools.asme.org)
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Solutions
• Increases success rate
• Evaluate success
• Determine desirable and undesirable trends
• Adaptive management tool
• Compare across sites, ecosystems & operators
Quantitative Monitoring & Standardized Reporting
(Schelz, Moran & Alward. National Park Service. 2003.)
(Smith & Chambers. USFS- INT-417. 1993.)
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Outline• Concepts
• Challenges
• Research Results
• Solutions
• Benefits
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Benefits
Compared to degraded ecosystems:
• Restored ecosystems have enhanced ecosystem service functions
However, compared to reference ecosystems:
• Restored ecosystems are not fully functioning
(Benayas, Newton, Diaz & Bullock. Science. 2009.)
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Benefits
• Ecosystem restoration is cost-effective
• woodlands and grasslands are some of the least expensive ecosystems to restore
• based on results from 94 studies around the world, typically < $2,000/ha or $800/ac
• (restoration costs per acre typically higher on smaller disturbances such as well pads)
• Benefits greatly exceed the costs
• Authors assumed restored ecosystems achieve 75% of the value of reference systems
• Even then, benefit:cost may exceed 30:1
Range of restoration costs (log 2007 $/ha)
Benefit to cost ratios (as a ratio)
(De Groot, et al. Conservation Biology. 2013.)
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(Chenowith, Holland, Jacob, Kruckenberg, Rizza, & Whiteley.
Proceedings of the 19th High Altitude Revegetation Workshop 2010.)
Benefits
• Successful restoration reduces costs to industry
• Having to repeat restoration after initial failed attempts may increase costs by 50%
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(Headwaters Economics. 2014.)
Benefits
• Restoration activities created jobs in numerous sectors
• Agriculture & Forestry• Mining• Construction• Professional Scientific & Technical Services• Administrative & Waste Services
• Annual average of over $10,000,000 of economic activity (2008-2013)
• Total annual average of 89 jobs• Compared to 181 manufacturing jobs & 87
in wholesale trade in these two counties
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Conclusions• Successful restoration provides numerous benefits
• Public, Industry, State & Local Governments
• Minimizing disturbance area is most cost-effective practice
• Restored areas do not achieve full function and value of reference areas