mowing. Often the mowed region will be smaller than the original site. If 

 the well is dry, it has been the recent practice to remove almost all traces 

 of presence. In some cases, even the shell forming the pad and road has been 

 removed and taken to another site, though this is probably due to the present 

 high price of shell. No record was found in refuge files of any reseeding of 

 an area after equipment removal. However, because of the pioneering nature of 

 the grass and brush species, the cleared areas are overgrown with grasses 

 within one or two yr. 



Production equipment has been placed and removed in numerous areas, and 

 several major pipelines and many flowlines have been placed into the ground. 

 Because of the vigorous growth of plants common to the area and the lack of 

 fire and grazing pressure since 1973, revegetation is rapid. The major remnant 

 of past oil and gas activities is the road system within the refuge. 



Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge 



The Brazoria NWR was purchased in 1966. Previous to the acquisition, 

 numerous wells had been registered with the Texas Railroad Commission. From 

 current Commission maps, at least 15 wells were drilled on refuge tracts, 

 though only 3 seem to have been drilled since the area became a refuge. Some 

 of the older wells were drilled as early as 1952, and apparently all have been 

 accessed through dredging and floating rigs. 



Preexploration. Preexploration activities have included explosive surveys 

 crossing several portions of the refuge. They have been confined to areas of 

 brackish marsh and coastal ponds and lakes. Typical shot lines were 2.9 km 

 (1.8 mi) in length, and alignment was often in a cross pattern. Holes were 

 drilled so that there were 5.5 to 10 holes per km (9 to 16 per mi). There was 

 also a vibroesis survey on the refuge with one line 1 km (3,300 ft) long. 



Marsh damage from marsh buggy movement was noted in 1972. Apparently one 

 buggy became stuck, and a considerable area was damaged by the efforts of a 

 second buggy to retrieve the first. According to refuge personnel, evidence 

 of the damage is still apparent; vegetation has changed because of the increased 

 intrusion by brackish water via the depressions that are still present on the 

 land surface. Some permits for seismic work were issued for work in winter 

 (February). More severe damage was noted at this time, possibly because of 

 the wet nature of the marsh soils. 



Access to site. All well sites were accessed by dredged canals. Most 

 were reached from the Intracoastal Waterway or from navigable channels nearby. 

 Spoil was placed in Corps of Engineers spoil sites for more recent wells, or 

 piled next to the channel at older sites. Several wells were drilled near 

 deeper channels and therefore required only a minimum of access preparation. 

 One well, however, had been placed deep within a marsh and had required a 



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