Land-use in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem: the potential disturbance resulting from coalbed methane production in the East Kootenay coalfields of southeast British Columbia

Sexton, Erin

Southeast British Columbia is part of a larger landscape known as the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. It is a region distinguished for low human presence and the diversity and abundance of large carnivore species that inhabit the landscape. The large carnivores are transboundary in nature and are a source of dispersing individuals to declining populations in southwest Alberta and the United States. Southeast British Columbia also contains the East Kootenay Coalfields. Based on the coal characteristics, the East Kootenay Coalfields have been targeted for commercial production of coalbed methane. The terrestrial and aquatic disturbance to the landscape resulting from coalbed methane production was evaluated using disturbance values from producing coalbed methane basins in the United States. Information on disturbance was compiled from the Black Warrior Basin, the San Juan Basin, and the Powder River Basin. These basins are similar in coal geology to the coal deposits of the East Kootenay Coalfields. Three methods were used to analyze the potential terrestrial disturbance resulting from 2,000 and 10,000 producing coalbed methane wells in southeast British Columbia. The first method calculated total disturbance according to direct disturbance (1.62 hectares/ well) and indirect disturbance (0.8 km and 3.2 km perimeter). Estimates were calculated for well densities of 1 well/65 ha and 1 well/11 ha. The second method calculated the potential linear disturbance resulting from the roads required to produce coalbed methane. Road densities are based on 0.48 km of road per producing well. The final method was based on grizzly bear displacement from habitat within 100 and 250 meters of roads. The potential disturbance to the Elk and Flathead Rivers from the discharge of coalbed methane wastewater was also discussed. Road densities resulting from 2,000 and 10,000 coalbed methane wells range from 1.2 km roads/1 km2 to 6 km roads/1 km2, up to six times the threshold of grizzly bears. The disturbance estimates also indicate that commercial production of coalbed methane in the East Kootenay Coalfields will displace large carnivores from the total area encompassed by the well field with further implications for the long-term viability of transboundary carnivore populations.