Oil and gas development in North Dakota is occurring at a rapid rate, and managers and biologists are ill-equipped to address and minimize damage from oil development and related activities on fish and wildlife habitat. This project aims to gather information on impacts to grassland birds from oil and gas development to better inform conservation managers.
The 2012 pilot season was a success. Bird surveys were conducted at 18 oil wells and four control sites. Preliminary findings showed reduced densities of grassland birds near wells compared with away from wells, but the effect varied among species. Continuing work will strengthen inferences as well as attempt to assess effects on uncommon species such as Baird’s sparrow and Sprague’s pipit.
