Land Impacts from Energy Development in West Texas

Texas hosts one of the largest energy resource bases of any state in the nation, from large deposits of fossil fuels to ample sunlight (especially in west Texas) to sufficient wind resources to make Texas the largest producer of wind energy in the US. These assets, though providing economic value to Texas, comes at the cost of environmental impacts, especially in arid west Texas with its fragile landscape. In this study, we combine our knowledge of desert ecosystems, landscape assessment, and energy systems to determine the impacts of regional-scale energy development in the 18-county, Greater Big Bend Region of Texas, from El Paso to the Pecos River (approximately 85,000 km² area). The goals are to assess current land impacts from all energy sources, from utility-scale solar to oil and gas exploration, and to identity mitigation techniques to reduce current and future impacts. To achieve these goals, we used 2008 NAIP imagery to assess baseline landscape conditions in the region, and assessed landscape fragmentation as a measure of landscape condition. We then assess how energy infrastructure (e.g., drill pads, pipelines, solar fields, wind turbines, power lines, etc.), deployed during the last 8-10 years, has altered the fragmentation status of the landscape, including those that host habitats for threatened and endangered species. We also estimate how potential future energy development in the region might affect the status and health of these desert landscapes. Using this knowledge, we can better plan where and how restoration techniques could reduce impacts to landscape health and associated ecosystems, balancing resource development. The results represent an improved framework for understanding future environmental risks from expanded energy-related construction activities.