Friday, February 20, 2009

Study: Drilling affects mule deer herds

The Casper Star-Tribune reports:

The second phase of multi-agency study has again confirmed that natural gas development is affecting population size and the distribution of wintering mule deer on the Mesa portion of the Pinedale Anticline. The study by Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc. concluded that mule deer numbers declined in the Mesa by 30 percent overall during the seven-year research project, which ran from 2000-2007. However, mule deer numbers stabilized and then increased during the final three years of the study. The study was designed to better understand potential energy-related impacts on wintering mule deer in the Pinedale Anticline gas field. The authors said the study's results suggest that efforts to minimize direct and indirect habitat loss from future oil and gas development should focus on "technology and planning that reduce the number of well pads and the human activity associated with them."...

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