Southwest Energy Exploration, Development, and Reclamation (SWEDR) Active

Background & Importance

Land degradation of drylands is a persistent and increasing problem that threatens the ecosystem services and habitats they provide. Many drylands globally are forecast to experience increasing aridity, including those in the US. Further, drylands have been shown to be extremely vulnerable to changes in climate, with large-scale shifts in community composition and function observed in many ecosystems of the Southwest. As a result, many drylands are degraded with diminished biodiversity, habitat quality, and ecosystem services. Thus, to conserve dryland habitats and ecosystem services, it is important to limit dryland land degradation through protection or mitigation, as well as to reverse these undesirable changes through active restoration.  

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The focus of the Southwest Energy Exploration, Development, and Reclamation (SWEDR) project is on the Colorado Plateau, a ~340,000 km2 physiographic province in the southwestern United States. The Colorado Plateau is a high elevation (~1500 m) dryland with grasslands, shrublands, and woodland plant community types, and 33 national parks and monuments (including four United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage sites). The Colorado Plateau is a hot spot for climate change, with some counties in the region among the top in the nation for temperature increases since pre-industrial measurements. Managing energy development in these vast landscapes in the context of rising temperatures and persistent droughts is challenging for land managers and policymakers.

Objectives

Scientists with the SWEDR project are working closely with Department of Interior (DOI) agencies and other stakeholders to conduct actionable science to help address these needs, outlined in the following objectives: 

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1. Examine and quantify the impacts of energy exploration and development on ecosystems, wildlife, and society, both locally and cumulatively. 
2. Understand reclamation outcomes, both using field data and remote sensing, and understand how management, landscape setting, weather, and time may constrain or promote successful reclamation.  This objective also will inform how to best monitor and establish benchmarks for reclamation success. 
3. Use experiments to evaluate current and to test cutting-edge reclamation techniques. These reclamation experiments will be primarily on reclaimed oil or gas pads but also include studies on mine sites and in the greenhouse. 
4. Complete technical transfer and communication of results with DOI and other stakeholders. This includes the development of techniques and methods publications, presentations, development of tools, and other accessible information formats. 

All objectives are being accomplished using a co-production of science approach with significant input and participation from our partners and stakeholders in all aspects of the scientific process.