Friendly Landowners and Their Surprises
FROM THE TRENCHES
Friendly Landowners and Their Surprises
As a Natural Resources Scientist at Zephyr , I spend a lot of time in the field helping oil and gas companies get the necessary environmental authorizations to extend old pipelines and build new ones . Although the environmental permitting and regulatory requirements depend on a number of factors , including whether the pipeline is “ intrastate ” or “ interstate ,” there is an aspect common to all the projects — before the pipeline goes in the ground , Zephyr has to survey every bit of the right of way at least once to identify the presence of threatened and endangered species ( as required by the Endangered Species Act ) and to identify wetlands ( a U . S . Corps of Engineers requirement ). That means covering a lot of ground and becoming experts on the back roads and small town diners of the local area .
Being on the back roads and eating at the family diners can be a trip in itself , but some of my most interesting , enjoyable , and surprising experiences are working with the landowners themselves . Without exception , they take great pride in their property and want to show off their land , whether it covers just a quarter of an acre or several sections .
One of these landowners treated me to a fantastic experience recently . We were working in Fisher County , Texas at a site due north of Sweetwater . The day started like almost every day out in the field — I was to meet the landowner in the middle of nowhere at sunrise . The Zephyr crew and I thought we were at the right spot , but after fifteen minutes with no word from the landowner , we went to our cell phones . Back on track , the landowner told us the right place to meet to start our survey .
After traveling down some dry and dusty county roads for a couple of miles and then another few miles down a two-track dirt road , we arrived at our area of interest .
Natural resource consultants are like water ; we ’ re drawn to the creeks . The little creek we found was exceptionally beautiful , located in a miniature canyon formed by highly erodible gypsum rock and flowing through a series of braided channels approximately 200 feet wide with incised banks 20 to 30 feet high . To my surprise , this land , primarily known for its cotton and wind farms , was presenting a completely unique scape .
As I sat there with the surveyor crew chief taking in this natural treasure , the landowner , like most landowners , couldn ’ t resist
giving us a few pointers about what to expect on the property : “ Watch out for that goat , he can be mean .” “ Make sure to lock the second gate , not the first , and also make sure to spin the lock .” And after the business end of our survey was out of the way , he began to loosen up and tell us the really good stuff . This particular landowner had lived there his entire life , his family had been there for seven generations , and he couldn ’ t wait to tell us his stories . “ Indians used to camp over here .” “ There is a cave down there .” And “ I haven ’ t seen water this high in years .” So far so good , until he said , “ Let me show you this !” Taking us right up to the edge of the cliff , he started to point out small holes in the gypsum canyon wall . “ Those are snake dens . So make sure to watch for the snakes .”
I have been told to watch out for snakes since the first day I started this type of work , but I always took this advice with a grain of salt . Not thirty seconds after this warning , we heard the steady buzz of one of the famous venomous reptiles of Texas . It was approximately eight feet away , not within striking distance , but close enough to raise the hair on your back . It was a fine specimen . The landowner calmly snagged it with a stick , showed us the rattlesnake in all its glory , then put it down and let it be .
That was probably the third rattlesnake I have seen in almost seven years of field work . I ’ m glad the landowner took the time and seven generations worth of knowledge to warn us about it . Z
Tim Clark Natural Resources Scientist
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