The National Wildlife Refuge System is an extensive system of Federal lands and waters acquired and managed specifically for conserving wildlife, plants, and their habitats. The system has evolved into a comprehensive network of lands devoted to wildlife conservation and management. America's refuges have over 5,000 oil and gas wells, of which approximately 1,665 are actively producing. The remaining wells are either inactive or their status is unknown.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) often manages these lands without having acquired subsurface mineral rights, a circumstance referred to as a “split estate.” Split estates allow for the development of these private minerals by their owners.
In addition to the inconsistent guidance, FWS has not completed a comprehensive database system for tracking wells as recommended by the Government Accountability Office in 2003. A complete and accurate database would assist FWS in managing oil and gas operations in refuges.
OIG made five recommendations to help FWS improve its management of oil and gas activities on refuges by addressing inconsistent oversight and enforcement, safety and environmental problems with orphaned and abandoned wells, and poor data management.