Energy Exploration and Development in the Desert Southwest

Drylands make up approximately 35% of the US and 80% of DOI lands, all located in the West and especially the Colorado Plateau. Consisting of arid and semi-arid ecosystems, drylands are strongly resource-limited with low resilience and resistance to abiotic perturbations. Thus, small environmental changes often have disproportionally large ecological effects. One source of disturbance in the region is energy exploration and development (EED), which has also been a major driver of economic growth and social change in the western US for more than 100 years. In 2007, there were almost 90,000 abandoned and current wells spanning 60 years of activity on the Colorado Plateau, and the number of wells has been increasing exponentially with [...]