Wildlife Water Improvements

Industrial development can change how water moves across a landscape, and for wildlife in arid and semi-arid regions, water availability is often the limiting factor for habitat quality. Wildlife water improvements help offset that impact, providing or enhancing water sources that support species displaced or affected by nearby development, and often serving as a meaningful piece of a broader mitigation strategy.

What Wildlife Water Improvements Involve

These projects range from small-scale enhancements to constructed water developments, designed and sited to actually benefit the species present in a given area. Depending on the site and the species of concern, this can include:

• Site assessment, often building on findings from a broader habitat assessment, to identify where water improvements would provide the most habitat benefit
• Design and siting of guzzlers, catchments, or other wildlife water developments
• Enhancement of existing natural water sources
• Coordination with land management agencies on placement and design standards
• Monitoring of installed improvements to confirm wildlife use and function over time

Why It Matters for Industrial Projects

Mitigation credit. Many permitting frameworks recognize wildlife water improvements as a legitimate offset for habitat impacts from industrial development, particularly in sage grouse and big game habitat where water availability directly affects population health.

Strengthens the regulatory relationship. Proactively offering water improvements as part of a mitigation plan demonstrates a level of commitment agencies notice, and it can smooth the broader permitting conversation for a project.

Supports species beyond the immediate site. A well-placed water improvement benefits wildlife across a wider area than the development footprint itself, which agencies and land managers often view favorably when evaluating a project’s overall impact.

Long-term habitat value. Unlike temporary mitigation measures, a properly designed and maintained water development can provide habitat value for decades, well beyond the active life of the industrial project that prompted it. On reclaimed sites specifically, a well-placed water improvement can also strengthen the results documented in a wildlife utilization of reclaimed lands assessment.

What We Provide

• Site assessments to identify optimal water improvement locations
• Design and siting support for guzzlers and other water developments
• Agency coordination on placement and design standards
• Ongoing monitoring to confirm wildlife use
• Guidance on incorporating water improvements into a broader mitigation strategy

Who This Serves

Oil and gas operators developing mitigation plans in sage grouse or big game habitat, mining companies offsetting habitat impacts, and industrial developers looking to strengthen their permitting position with meaningful, agency-recognized mitigation.

Get Started

If your project could benefit from wildlife water improvements as part of a mitigation strategy, we can help you design something that actually works for the species on the ground. Contact us to discuss your project.