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

Outline• Concepts

• Challenges

• Research Results

• Solutions

• Benefits

Concepts• Ecosystem Structure & Function

• Exploitation

• Homogenization

• Ecosystem Services

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.

Concepts• Ecosystem Structure & Function

• Exploitation

• simplifies ecosystem structure & function

• maintenance requires continual inputs

• Homogenization

• Ecosystem Services

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)

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

Outline• Concepts

• Challenges

• Research Results

• Solutions

• Benefits

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

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/]

Challenges

• Over 15,000 wells in NW CO

• of > 53,000 statewide

Grand Junction

Rangely

Rifle

Meeker

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

Outline• Concepts

• Challenges

• Research Results

• Solutions

• Benefits

Scientific Investigations

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

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

• 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

Media Coverage

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.

Outline• Concepts

• Challenges

• Research Results

• Solutions

• Benefits

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)

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.)

Outline• Concepts

• Challenges

• Research Results

• Solutions

• Benefits

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.)

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.)

(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%

(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

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