tongueriver_ponds_2004_2x.tif

swwells1_pp.jpg

Habitat fragmentation caused by CBM well pads and access roads. December 2003 aerial view.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Please contact SkyTruth for more information and for permission to use.

Bruce Gordon

SkyTruth / EcoFlight

organization

sjwellsdine_pp.jpg

Under seige: CBM infrastructure in New Mexico surrounds places long held sacred by the Navajo and other native peoples. December 2003 aerial view.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Please contact SkyTruth for more information and for permission to use.

Bruce Gordon

SkyTruth / EcoFlight

espinosa_ranch-bixler_ranch_1989vs2002.JPG

Landsat satellite images from 1989 (left) and 2002 (right)showing infrastructure related to coalbed methane extraction. New roads, well pads and a probable pipeline corridor (along the right edge of image) are apparent in 2002 in this hilly area east of Navajo Reservoir. Wetter conditions in July 1989 are indicated by healthier green vegetation.

swwellpad3_pp.jpg

Aerial view from December 2003 vividly illustrates the scenic impact of installation and maintenance operations on a CBM well. The number of trucks and other vehicles suggests the volume of traffic and magnitude of noise, dust and visual disturbance throughout the region that inevitably accompanies full-field CBM development.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Bar-N-Draw_2001.JPG

Bar-N-Draw_1996.JPG

tongueriver_ponds_2004.tif

swwells2_pp.jpg

Scenic and habitat impact of CBM well pads and access roads. December 2003 aerial view.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Please contact SkyTruth for more information and for permission to use.

Bruce Gordon

SkyTruth / EcoFlight

organization

tongueriver_ponds_1999.tif

Landsat-7 satellite image taken on August 16, 1999 showing the area between the Tongue River (left) and lower Prairie Dog Creek (right) in Sheridan County, Wyoming. At this time the area is mostly ranchland with irrigated agriculture (bright green) in the river valleys. Drilling for coalbed methane in this part of the Powder River Basin accelerated in following years. Wyoming - Montana border is shown by brown line at top. Image is 10 miles across.

tongueriver_ponds_2003_2x.tif

swpad1_pp.jpg

December 2003 aerial closeup of a single CBM well pad. Note that actual landscape disturbance often extends well beyond the main perimeter of the pad: corrugated area off the left side of this pad has obviously been mechanically altered, and some attempt has been made at reclamation.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Please contact SkyTruth for more information and for permission to use.

Price_Landsat_1989vs2000.JPG

Landsat satellite images from 1989 (left) and 2000 (right)showing infrastructure related to coalbed methane extraction. Few roads and well pads existed in this part of the Uinta Basin in 1989. Each of the well pads visible in 2000 is approximately 1.5-2 acres in size.

Drunkards Wash coalbed methane field west of Price, Utah, 1989 and 2000.

tongueriver_ponds_24k_drg_2x.tif

USGS topographic map showing the area between the Tongue River (left) and lower Prairie Dog Creek (right) in Sheridan County, Wyoming. Map was made in 1967 and revised in 1976, long before CBM drilling in this area. Small blue dots indicate reservoirs built by ranchers in the channels of ephemeral streams to capture snowmelt for watering livestock. Compare with Landsat satellite images from 1999, 2003 and 2004. Map is 5 miles across.

swwells4_pp.jpg

Severe landscape disruption caused by the typically close spacing of CBM wells. December 2003 aerial view.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Please contact SkyTruth for more information and for permission to use.

Bruce Gordon

SkyTruth / EcoFlight

organization

sjwells_way_south_pp.jpg

December 2003 aerial view showing extreme industrialization of landscape that accompanies CBM development.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Please contact SkyTruth for more information and for permission to use.

Bruce Gordon

SkyTruth / EcoFlight

organization

tongueriver_ponds_1999_2x.tif

Landsat-7 satellite image taken on August 16, 1999 showing the area between the Tongue River (left) and lower Prairie Dog Creek (right) in Sheridan County, Wyoming. At this time the area is mostly ranchland with irrigated agriculture (bright green) in the river valleys. Drilling for coalbed methane in this part of the Powder River Basin accelerated in following years. Wyoming - Montana border is shown by brown line at top. Image is 5 miles across.

anastacio_spring_1989vs2002.JPG

Landsat satellite images from 1989 (left) and 2002 (right)showing infrastructure related to coalbed methane extraction. Most of the roads and well pads in this area west of Navajo Reservoir are already present in 1989, but possibly more visible in 2002 due to greater vehicle traffic.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane field, Anastacio Spring quadrangle, 1989 and 2002.

swroads_pp.jpg

December 2003 aerial view of CBM infrastructure spanning the region.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Please contact SkyTruth for more information and for permission to use.

Bruce Gordon

SkyTruth / EcoFlight

organization

swtransmission_pp.jpg

Processing facility typifies the industrialization of the landscape that accompanies CBM development. Aerial view from December 2003.

San Juan Basin coalbed methane (CBM) development

Please contact SkyTruth for more information and for permission to use.

Bruce Gordon

SkyTruth / EcoFlight