West Virginia Division of Natural Resources’ Chief of Wildlife Resources Paul Johansen recommends landowners and industry leaders use a new guide to help reclaim habitats near oil and gas infrastructure.
The nonregulatory guide “Enhancing Wildlife Habitat on Oil and Gas Infrastructure” provides suggestions on how to enhance or preserve wildlife habitat associated with well sites, pipelines and access roads.
According to DNR, this includes species that use the edges of developed areas, where natural habitats meet human habitats and animals and wildlife are forced to undergo significant changes to survive and adapt.
It also includes early successional habitats, which relates to the changes in plant communities that result from man-made disturbances.