Faces of ConocoPhillips
Q&A
Jesse Wood, Jason Brooks and Ryan Jonnes are making a positive impact on the Permian Basin ecosystem, enabling ConocoPhillips to successfully balance responsible oil and gas development with land stewardship.
As Permian Basin Director of Ecology and Sustainable Development, Jesse oversees stewardship activities and management of natural resources on over 195,000 acres in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. He also serves as a liaison to state and federal agencies addressing threatened and endangered species concerns and facilitating implementation of corporate sustainable development and biodiversity initiatives.
Jason and Ryan are wildlife biologists and field coordinators on Jesse’s team, helping him implement ConocoPhillips’ land stewardship initiatives in the Permian.
Read on to learn how these three wildlife experts are managing ConocoPhillips' West Texas and New Mexico properties in a responsible and sustainable manner.
Why is it important for ConocoPhillips to be a leader in land stewardship in the Permian Basin?
Jesse Wood: Due to our position in the Permian, we’ve been given the opportunity to demonstrate strong land ethics as an exploration and production company. We’ve shown that we can promote rangeland and ecosystem health across the board and have a positive impact across the landscape. It's important that we set the standard for our industry when it comes to stewardship of natural resources where we live and work. I consider it part of our social license to operate.
What do you consider your biggest success story at Quail Ranch?
Jesse Wood: Perhaps our biggest success is the recognition we received from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as a Lone Star Land Steward Award winner in 2022. These prestigious awards are presented to landowners for their contributions to land, water and wildlife stewardship. We are the first exploration and production company to receive this award, and it is a testament to our commitment to manage our assets in a responsible and sustainable manner.
To what do you attribute your successes?
Jesse Wood: Two things come to mind: the encouragement and support of our leadership, and partnerships with organizations aligned with our stewardship goals. We've forged a number of mutually beneficial relationships with partners who are experts in their fields, including the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Sul Ross State University Borderlands Research Institute, Texas A&M Agrilife Research and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to name a few. Access to subject matter experts is key to making sure we have access to the latest information and best management practices.
How are we sharing our learnings?
Jesse Wood: We primarily share information through field days and service events hosted at our facility on Quail Ranch. We have hosted two Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation Stewards of the Wild service events, along with a Blue Quail Appreciation Day and a Native Plant Restoration field day. These events offer opportunities to collaborate with partners I mentioned earlier and showcase our stewardship efforts. We also plan to share outcomes of ongoing research projects when available. I hope we can share information that makes us, as an industry, better stewards of natural resources.
What are ConocoPhillips’ restoration and wildlife management priorities for 2024 in the Permian Basin?
Jason Brooks: One of our top goals is always to work with our internal and third-party development teams to site new projects in the most ecologically responsible manner possible. Beyond that, we will continue to restore all right-of-way and decommissioned infrastructure on surface interests; enhance degraded habitats consistent with our long-term plans; and maintain areas that we have previously restored. In addition, we have some exciting community events planned this year, including the 2024 Trail Run at Quail Ranch; a Girls in Science Program hosted by Sibley Nature Center (presenting to 4th-6th grade girls on wildlife biology); and a Quail Masters event hosted by the Rolling Plains Research Ranch that demonstrates how new technologies, such as drones, are being used to manage wildlife habitat.
Why is collaboration important in land stewardship?
Jason Brooks: Habitat fragmentation is probably our biggest challenge, so collaboration allows managers to multiply the impacts of their efforts by creating larger swaths of suitable habitat across property boundaries.
How do the wildlife surveys you conduct influence land management decisions?
Jason Brooks: We use survey data to measure success and utilization of our restoration efforts. If we find something is working, we simply do more of that.
What’s the most challenging aspect of restoring native grassland in a desert environment?
Ryan Jonnes: There are many challenges to restoring native grassland in a desert environment. Precipitation is the driver for all life in the desert. After years of drought, you can see a negative shift in the desirable plant community. Invasive plants like Lehman’s lovegrass and African rue are adapted to dry environments and spread quickly, out-competing preferred native grasses. More information is needed on reducing Lehman’s lovegrass density in order to give native plant communities a chance.
Are you seeing an increase in blue quail numbers where habitat has been restored?
Ryan Jonnes: Winter precipitation is paramount for blue quail populations. Quail populations can rebound quickly given the right conditions. It is our goal to provide quail with favorable habitat to have large rebounds on the favorable years and maintain populations during the dry periods.
Jason Brooks: In fully restored areas, we do see an uptick in quail numbers relative to adjacent properties due to an increase primarily in nesting habitat, but also cover and in some cases food. Enhancing nest success and survival via sound management allows us to maximize the natural “boom” cycles that Ryan mentioned, while mitigating the “busts.”
In addition to grassland restoration, what other projects are being conducted on ConocoPhillips' properties?
Ryan Jonnes: One of our New Mexico properties has a vibrant desert spring system. Years of streamside grazing and the presence of salt cedar have eroded the banks, changed the plant community and reduced water flow in the system. In 2022, we constructed a cattle exclusion fence to reduce the impact cattle have on bank erosion and water quality. Our next step is salt cedar eradication, which will increase flows and increase streamside soil moisture. I'm excited to see a favorable shift in plant and animal communities within the system.