Thinking Differently About Energy Development:
A Balanced Approach
A Report from Respect Big Bend & Texas' Tri-County Stakeholder Engagement Group
May 2021
Recommendations
Based on their experience with this engagement process in the Tri-County region, the SAG has developed the following recommendations to address future energy development across the Big Bend Region.
Obtain stakeholder input to avoid negative impacts of energy development.
The RBB project is a useful model for engaging stakeholders to identify the resources and attributes that local communities value – in short, a conservation vision. The conservation vision can be used by energy companies and individual landowners when planning new developments to avoid impacts to areas of high value and to identify priority areas for restoration. The RBB landscape framework can be used in other parts of West Texas by stakeholder groups that represent their counties. The RBB process could be replicated in other areas of Texas (or other locations considered for energy development) to ensure that the potential negative impacts of energy development are minimized.
Establish a center for landowner and community resources.
We recommend establishing a regional Center for Land Stewardship and Community Engagement at the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University. This center would serve to provide technical resources and function as a conservation convener for community members, landowners and energy operators in Far West Texas. The center would also help ensure the long-term viability and functionality of the Respect Big Bend initiative.
The mission of this entity would be to serve as a resource for land management and conservation activities and ensure that landowners, community members and energy operators have access to the landscape framework created by RBB.
Support programs to keep large tracts of land intact, to preserve the values that they provide to all the citizens of the state.
Large, intact working lands are critical for maintaining most of the recognized values of the region. Initiatives and incentives that minimize fragmentation, encourage conservation and enhance productivity would assist private landowners challenged by droughts, volatile agricultural markets and estate taxes, and reduce the pressure to develop their lands. To be attractive to landowners, programs should be designed to protect private property rights and be administered transparently.
Restore land disturbed by energy development.
The natural resource values of the land should be restored by energy operators to their original condition as rapidly as possible after disturbance. Doing so would reduce water pollution and wind erosion, restore habitat and improve Texas’ ranching and hunting heritage, as well as the lands’ environmental health. To maximize the benefits of large-scale restoration efforts funded with government dollars and/or private investment, the efforts should be guided by the values identified through the RBB project and targeted at locations where those values would be enhanced.