Across Wyoming’s Green River Basin, grazing pronghorn and vibrating drill rigs cast shadows on the horizon. These unlikely neighbors illustrate a growing land management issue: how to plumb natural gas fields while limiting damage to wildlife and habitat. For energy companies and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages and sells oil and gas leases on publicly-owned land in Wyoming, one collaborative mitigation effort points the way forward.

This effort involves the Jonah Field, a 30,000-acre natural gas field operated by Encana Oil & Gas and BP America Production Co. To compensate for habitat loss at the Jonah Field, the companies agreed to finance a $24.5 million mitigation fund, to be managed by a new governmental entity called the Jonah Interagency Mitigation & Reclamation Office.

BLM turned to The Conservation Fund to lead the first conservation real estate deal using Jonah Interagency Office funds. Acting on the results of a conservation model, BLM sought to protect nearby land that’s rich in critical wildlife habitat yet unsuitable for drilling.

To accomplish that goal, we acquired a conservation easement on the 1,000-acre Cottonwood Ranches, a classic Wyoming property. We negotiated the easement at a good value for the public and then built the necessary financing, leveraging mitigation funds with support from local organizations. This landmark mitigation project generated positive media coverage as a step forward for a region struggling to reconcile the trade-offs between human and natural needs.

Building on this success, at the end of 2008 we helped complete the region’s largest purchased conservation easement—protecting more than 2,000 acres of MJ Ranch, a family-owned working ranch southeast of Boulder. It is the largest purchased conservation easement in the Green River valley of Wyoming.

The Jonah Interagency Mitigation and Reclamation Office and the Wyoming Game & Fish Department identified the MJ Ranch as a top conservation priority. The Fund worked with owners of the ranch to place the property under a conservation easement, while the Wyoming Game & Fish Department developed habitat enhancement plans for the land. The Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust will monitor and enforce the easement, permanently preserving the ranch’s traditional agricultural operation.

Our mitigation work in the region continues. With our partners, we work to balance the protection of nature with the development of new energy resources for the nation’s businesses and homes.

Just as we invest in our energy pipelines, water systems and roads, we must also invest in wildlife habitat, freshwater resources and open space. Why? These natural resources are part of our nation’s infrastructure—protecting us from floods, providing clean air to breathe and clean water to drink and supporting jobs tied to the outdoors. In this way, our economy and our environment are tightly connected.

At The Conservation Fund, we’re leading efforts to help business and government improve infrastructure. Together, we’re working to meet America’s resource needs while mitigating, or compensating, for the environmental impacts that progress can bring. With more than two decades of conservation and dozens of successful mitigation projects under our belt, we’ve rolled up our sleeves to rebuild a stronger, healthier America with you.

Our efforts include:

Conservation Real Estate

We acquire and conserve wildlife habitat to compensate for lands and waters lost to development and other resource needs. One example: Wyoming’s Green River Basin, home to grazing pronghorn antelope, sage grouse and one of the nation’s largest natural gas reserves. The challenge is to access new energy resources while mitigating damage to valued wildlife habitat. In 2008, we brokered the first Wyoming conservation real estate deals using dedicated mitigation funds from the Jonah Interagency Office. With the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust and other partners, we protected more than 3,000 acres of ranchland.

For more information, see: Wyoming: Offsetting Natural Gas Drilling by Protecting Habitat

Fund Management

With demonstrated financial skill, we manage funds to achieve conservation goals. One example: To meet big energy demands, Rockies Express Pipeline LLC has big plans — a new 1,700-mile natural gas pipeline to stretch from Colorado to Ohio. To compensate for the loss of migratory bird habitat in four states along a pipeline section called REX East, the company has agreed to create a replacement fund: the Rockies Express Migratory Bird Account. We’ve partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage this fund. We will distribute more than $4 million to conserve forests across America’s heartland, providing migratory birds with critical habitat.

For more information, see: REX East: Managing Funds To Offset Pipeline Impacts

Strategic Planning

With mapping tools and collaboration, we strategically plan conservation to ensure that valued landscapes remain protected, allowing progress to move forward efficiently. For example, when natural gas pipelines travel long distances to fuel communities, wildlife habitat planning gets complicated. Energy provider NiSource Gas Transmission operates more than 15,500 miles of pipeline across 14 states. We’re working with NiSource, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state stakeholders to plan conservation in a whole new way—across this entire region. Together, we’re setting a precedent for more efficient permitting that offers outstanding conservation outcomes.

For more information, see: Strategic Planning To Offset Pipeline Impacts

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