University of Wyoming study finds songbird declines in high-density well sites

CODY — Drilling wells at high densities may contribute to a decline in some bird species that depend upon sagebrush habitat, a new study from the University of Wyoming has found.

Directed by Anna Chalfoun of the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Wyoming, the study found that sagebrush habitat surrounded by high well densities — especially natural gas wells — supports lower densities of certain songbirds.

Completed over two years, the study encompassed the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah gas fields and the LaBarge oilfield in western Wyoming, where pad densities reach more than 16 wells per square mile.

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