Digitization of a selection of oil and gas well pad sites in the Piceance region of Western Colorado. A random sample of 146 pad locations from the "Digitized Piceance Oil and Gas Pads of Western Colorado, 2015" were used to identify the locations digitized in this dataset. The 146 polygons spatially intersect polygons in the 2015 shape file, but are not completely contained within the 2015 polygons. Well pad sites were delineated using a modified version of the Rapid Land Cover Mapping protocol (Preston and Kim, 2016). The base imagery used to delineate boundaries is the 2005 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery.

Digitization of oil and gas well pad sites in the Piceance region of Western Colorado. Well pad sites were delineated using a modified version of the Rapid Land Cover Mapping protocol (Preston and Kim, 2016). The base imagery used to delineate boundaries is the 2015 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery. Well coordinate locations facilitating the targeting of well pad sites were downloaded from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) in February 2016.

Digitization of oil and gas well pad sites in the Piceance region of Western Colorado. Well pad sites were delineated using a modified version of the Rapid Land Cover Mapping protocol (Preston and Kim, 2016). The base imagery used to delineate boundaries is the 2015 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery. Well coordinate locations facilitating the targeting of well pad sites were downloaded from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) in February 2016.

This data release contains spatial data on the location, number, size and extent of energy-related surface disturbances on the Colorado Plateau of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico as of 2016. The database includes: 1) polygons of oil and gas pads generated from automated and manual classification of aerial imagery, and 2) polylines of roads derived from the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefile, supplemented with additional oil and gas access roads digitized from aerial imagery. Pad polygons and road segments are attributed with a "spud year" date based on spud information from the nearest well point. Spudding is the process of beginning to drill a well in the oil and gas industry, and the spud year is a close approximation of when the access roads and pads were cleared for development. The spud year information can be used to develop a chronology of oil and gas surface disturbances across the study region. The remote sensing-based pad mapping captures bright soil of disturbed areas on active pads (not reclaimed areas or other features), and is likely an underestimate of the actual pad size in many areas. The remote sensing mapping methods may also capture areas of bright soils that are not part of a pad, especially in locations surrounded by very bright desert soils.

This data release contains spatial data on the location, number, size and extent of energy-related surface disturbances on the Colorado Plateau of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico as of 2016. The database includes: 1) polygons of oil and gas pads generated from automated and manual classification of aerial imagery, and 2) polylines of roads derived from the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefile, supplemented with additional oil and gas access roads digitized from aerial imagery. Pad polygons and road segments are attributed with a "spud year" date based on spud information from the nearest well point. Spudding is the process of beginning to drill a well in the oil and gas industry, and the spud year is a close approximation of when the access roads and pads were cleared for development. The spud year information can be used to develop a chronology of oil and gas surface disturbances across the study region. The remote sensing-based pad mapping captures bright soil of disturbed areas on active pads (not reclaimed areas or other features), and is likely an underestimate of the actual pad size in many areas. The remote sensing mapping methods may also capture areas of bright soils that are not part of a pad, especially in locations surrounded by very bright desert soils.

This release contains geospatial data digitized from the Map Showing Geology, Structure, and Oil and Gas Fields in the Sterling 1x2 Degree Quadrangle, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas (Scott, 1978) and was compiled as part of the National Geologic Synthesis project. The geospatial data depicts the geology of this quadrangle, which is dominated by Quaternary alluvial and aeolian deposits overlying Tertiary and Cretaceous sedimentary rock, including the Ogallala formation, the Fox Hills sandstone, and the Pierre shale. The included database includes spatial data depicting the locations of mapped geologic contacts and faults, polygons denoting the mapped surficial extent of geologic formations, and structural contours denoting the depth to the top of the D sandstone of the Dakota Group. The database also contains non-spatial tables, including a list of data sources, a description of map units, a glossary of terms, and a data dictionary.

These data were compiled to support a study of how environmental setting affects the success of well pad reclamation within the region managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Carlsbad Field Office in southeastern New Mexico, USA. The data were collected in 2022 and 2023 and represent vegetation, soil, and climate conditions at 70 reclaimed well pads from 4 to 24 years after the wells were plugged and reclaimed. The data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT, Research Station, using field observations and some remotely sensed or mapped products (gridded climate and soil property maps). The data can be used to represent the environmental condition of the well pads at the time of collection, the elapsed time between when wells were plugged (a proxy for the start of the reclamation process) and when data were collected, and the climate at each well pad as represented by the global aridity index. For some data, samples were taken both on well pads and adjacent to them in relatively undisturbed areas and so may be used to compare the condition of pads with adjacent reference conditions.

Federal onshore lands contain an estimated 20 percent of the oil and 25 percent of the undiscovered natural gas resources in the United States (U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 2006) and the BLM has identified the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) as an area with high potential for continued energy development (U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 2002). The UCRB drains portions of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming and is part of the largest river basin in the southwestern United States. A significant volume of known and potential oil and gas reserves lies in the sedimentary basins of the UCRB (Huffman, 1995; U.S. Geological Survey 2002a; U.S. Geological Survey 2002b; U.S. Geological Survey 2002c) and an average of 4,527 wells per year was started on Federal land in the five UCRB states in fiscal years (FY, October 1 to September 30) 2006 and 2007 (U.S. Bureau of Land Management 2008). An average of 2,462 wells per year were drilled between FY 2000 and 2005. 1,284 wells were drilled per year on average in the preceding 10 year period from FY 1990 to 1999. Increased drilling activity has raised concerns that land disturbance from drilling activity may have an affect on surface water quality in the basin. Existing and planned land disturbance data are not regularly or consistently compiled at the state or regional level. Regional-scale compilation, synthesis, and analysis of data defining energy development- related land disturbance and water quality in the UCRB may help to improve understanding of the potential cumulative effects of current and projected energy development on land cover changes in the basin. The location of known oil and gas wells was compiled from state oil and gas databases and merged into a single oil and gas well dataset for the UCRB. The reported status of each well was used to classify the well into two categories: disturbed or not disturbed. Disturbed wells are likely associated with land disturbance. The classified wells were used to estimate the location and extent of energy related land disturbance in the basin. References: Huffman, A.C., Jr., 1995, Paradox Basin Province: U.S. Geological Survey 1995 National oil and gas assessments, accessed April 2009 at http://certmapper.cr.usgs.gov/data/noga95/prov21/text/prov21.pdf U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 2002, Resourceful management of our natural resources, accessed April 2009 at http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/Communications_Directorate/general_publications/mgmt.Par.6587.File.dat/handout_02.pdf U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 2006, Scientific inventory of onshore federal lands' oil and gas resources and the extent and nature of restrictions or impediments to their development: Energy policy and conservation act phase II inventory, accessed October 2007 at http://www.blm.gov/epca/ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 2008, Oil and Gas Statistics, accessed February 2009 at http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/Energy_Facts_07/statistics.html U.S. Geological Survey, 2002a, Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Uinta-Piceance Province of Colorado and Utah, 2002: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 026-02, accessed April 2009 at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0026-02/fs-0026-02.pdf U.S. Geological Survey, 2002b, Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the San Juan Basin Province of New Mexico and Colorado, 2002: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 147-02, accessed April 2009 at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-147-02/FS-147-02.pdf U.S. Geological Survey, 2002c, Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Southwestern Wyoming Province, 2002: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 145-02, accessed April 2009 at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-145-02/FS-145-02.pdf