Prior to joining Oilfield Witness as a thermographer and field ecologist, I worked as an ecologist and Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) cruiser for the Texas A&M University Forest Service. Cruisers gather info on tree species, size, and age. We look at forest structure and composition, vegetation density and diversity, soil type, and wildlife habitat. We also collect data on fuels which assist fire ecologists and firefighters when preparing to fight fire. I was also certified as a wildland firefighter and worked on a handcrew. A forest service handcrew usually consists of around 20 wildland firefighters who use hand tools to cut trails around a fire to remove fuel (vegetation, dead leaves, woody debris, decomposing plant material etc..) that allow wildfire to spread. They are often referred to as the infantry of wildland firefighting. I worked on the flightline too, taxiing SEATS (single engine air tankers) that would fight fire from the air. SEATS are loaded with fire retardants to assist with fighting fire on the ground.
In 2020, due to a critical shortage of wildland firefighters, Texas A&M Forest Service mandated that all foresters and other biologists become certified as FFT2, or Firefighter Type 2 Crewmembers(wildland firefighters).
Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) is one of the longest continuously running (1928) research activities within the United States Department of Agriculture and one of the primary program deliverables is their carbon portfolio. The FIA mission is to “advance the science, monitoring, and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals on land with trees in the United States.”
An FIA Cruiser is trained, tested, and certified to hike out on foot into the field while carrying the appropriate gear to collect data and determine if conditions meet forested thresholds. A forested condition means that canopy cover is at least 10%. One of the most concerning aspects of doing this work was that most of my survey plots no longer met the minimum threshold (canopy cover) to be considered “forested” in the Permian Basin, but many had in surveys 10-20 years prior. Since much of this region was within the Permian, many of the FIA surveys I conducted were in the middle of oilfields. It wasn’t uncommon to be standing a few feet from a flare, crude tanks, or an oil spill when doing this work. Part of my job was to code and document these disturbances and this impacted whether the current conditions could be coded as “forested”. Deforestation and habitat loss is in part directly related to the oil and gas industry.
While this work is critically important, I felt it could be more impactful if I could talk about it with community members, so I chose to find work where I could do this and therefore feel like I was having a real impact.
For the last three years I worked as a thermographer for the environmental group Earthworks. There, I conducted surveys of oil and gas infrastructure in the New Mexico oil and gas basins, including the Permian. We used our data as leverage for public information campaigns, but mostly to improve rules and regulations through educating the public and policymakers. We often filed environmental complaints with New Mexico regulatory agencies. There were some significant fines, but for the most part, New Mexico just doesn’t have the resources to respond or hold operators accountable in a meaningful way. More often than not, sites I revisited continued to emit harmful pollutants regardless of how many times I surveyed them.
Working for years collecting data in the Permian and San Juan Basins, I’ve seen firsthand the devastating consequences of the oil and gas industry. The harm caused by oil and gas extraction isn’t limited to human communities; our natural ecosystems in and near extraction sites face serious consequences, from habitat loss and fragmentation, to species extirpation (complete species removal from specific geographic regions) and even extinction. The consequences plants and wildlife face from U.S. oil and gas production are often overlooked, just as the consequences to the local human communities are often ignored.

Abandoned oilfield equipment leaking oil.
My research has taken me to oil and gas sites throughout New Mexico, where I’ve documented the damage caused by drilling, extraction, and transportation activities. I have seen once thriving ecosystems reduced to barren wastelands. Habitat fragmentation plays a significant role in this and it occurs when a large intact ecosystem is disrupted due to human development. A few examples of this would be deforestation, urbanization, or even oil and gas development. This causes the loss of habitat and biodiversity (variety of life). The industry is so toxic and impactful, it can cause native species to disappear entirely. However, it can also cause the opposite. Native species can become a nuisance species, overwhelming the landscape causing significant ecological disruptions. Some native species like creosote or mesquite, can easily outcompete other native species for resources. They have deep root systems and rapid reproduction rates. This is a response to environmental changes like habitat modification and pollution which can limit or eliminate natural controls, or competitors. This can also happen with wildlife species. The removal of food resources will reduce foraging, which in turn reduces seed dispersal which discourages biodiversity. It also forces predator species to search for new territory. Ungulates (hooved mammals), like deer, can become a nuisance if they do not have natural controls such as predators. Without these controls, deer will excessively browse (feed) contributing to a loss in biodiversity, soil erosion, reduced habitat quality, and overall changes in species composition. This behavior can promote disease, a subject I will write more about in the future.
Another often overlooked impact is noise and light pollution. Not only does this affect humans, the constant rumble of drilling, roar of compressor engines, traffic, and light create a mixture of disturbances that disrupts the balance of our ecosystems. The noise and light doesn’t just disturb wildlife, it throws off their (and ours) circadian rhythm. Our circadian rhythm is our biological clock. It regulates our daily cycles. In natural environments, rhythms are synced with our 24 hour day and night cycles. When noise and light pollution disrupt this cycle, it can and does have severe impacts.
Research has shown that noise pollution alters wildlife behavior by disrupting communication between animals, reproduction, foraging behavior, and even affects the growth and development of plants. This disruption has cascading effects, leading to changes in population dynamics and the overall function of ecosystems.
The transition to renewable energy is critical for mitigating climate change, protecting humans, and preserving our ecosystems for future generations. New Mexico simply does not have the capacity and/or resources to oversee oil and gas operations and hold operators accountable. One of the ways to stop oil and gas expansion in New Mexico is to stop issuing new oil and gas permits. If we don’t, threats to human and natural communities will grow and the circumstances we will inevitably face will become especially grim, if not totally irreversible.

Cows grazing on oilfield production sites.