Quail Forever partners with Pennsylvania State University and Shell Midstream to implement wildlife habitat on an ethane pipeline right-of-way

By Rachel Holt

Across the continental United States, energy and roadside rights-of-way cover approximately 35 million acres. When combined, that land area rivals the size of the entire U.S. national park system. Despite their prevalence in the landscape, these rights-of-way are typically viewed as nothing more than a space cleared for power lines and pipelines, something our eyes glaze over as we drive by. 

But along one stretch of natural gas pipeline right-of-way in Pennsylvania, those open corridors are becoming something else entirely: a living laboratory for wildlife conservation. 

A collaborative research effort led by Carolyn Mahan, PhD, a professor of biology and environmental studies at Pennsylvania State University, is examining how vegetation management along a 30-acre stretch of the Falcon right-of-way––a 97-mile ethane pipeline owned by Shell Midstream––influences birds, pollinators and other wildlife.  Research partners, Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF), are providing technical guidance on habitat design and management practices. 

Mahan’s team is evaluating whether working landscapes, such as pipeline corridors, can be managed to benefit biodiversity while still meeting the operational needs of the energy industry. 

“I've always studied wildlife and human landscapes because I'm interested in understanding whether we can coexist with wildlife, and if so, how can we modify the human manipulation of the landscape in such a way that makes room for wildlife,” Mahan said. 

The idea for the project emerged from a chance conversation at a right-of-way summit hosted at Penn State. During the event, Donnie Garrison, Shell conservation advocacy and engagement specialist, met Mahan and learned about her research on wildlife response to land management on rights-of-way. 

“We were looking for ways to implement more biodiversity practices on our rights-of-way,” Garrison said. “I asked Carolyn if she had ever studied pipeline rights-of-way. She said no, and I said, ‘Well, I have a pipeline right-of-way you could study.’ And it really started from there.” 

Funded by Shell as part of its right-of-way conservation program, a pilot research site was established along the Falcon pipeline to test six different vegetation management strategies side by side, which consisted of native plant conversions, herbicide applications, and different mowing strategies. 

Michael Retterer, PF and QF national rights-of-way and energy coordinator, said PF and QF played a key role in providing technical assistance and helping Shell and Mahan design the vegetation management approach for the site. 

“Essentially, we’re acting as a consultant,” Retterer said. “We help them build their vegetation management plan and look at the whole asset, what are the options, and how do we manage it for the goals they want to achieve?” 

Mahan said the multi-year study, which will run through 2028, is intended to give energy companies clearer, data-driven guidance on how to manage vegetation beyond traditional mowing.  

“Right now, what's easiest for energy companies is to mow it to the ground every year, because then they don't have to worry about vegetation interfering with operations and mowing is non-selective,” Mahan said. “We want to show that these rights-of-way are potential habitat for native wildlife.” 

To measure wildlife responses to different management practices, Mahan’s team has been conducting in-person bird counts, vegetation surveys, and pollinator sampling. In addition, PF and QF have deployed autonomous recording units (ARUs) on the pilot site that continuously record and detect wildlife calls in the area.  

Jess McGuire, PF and QF director of applied science, who has helped oversee the ARU pilot, said the ARUs give Mahan and her team a broader dataset to get a clearer picture of how the corridor is functioning as a habitat rather than relying on occasional in-person counts alone. 

“This pilot gives us feedback on the applicability of practices that we’re recommending to our landowners at a smaller scale with replication,” McGuire said. “Information transfer is critical in a space that is moving very quickly. Conservationists need to partner quickly to gather this data or we’re going to be left behind.” 

Even in its infancy, the study has documented an increase in rare bird species, native plants, and pollinators on the right-of-way.  

“I was skeptical at first,” McGuire said. “You can’t argue the results. The proper implementation of practices actually did result in bird and vegetation response, in a short period of time.” 

For Garrison, projects like this are helping shift a long-standing narrative that energy development and conservation are at odds. He believes integrating conservation into working landscapes is less of a tradeoff and more of a practical step. 

“We’re showing it can be done,” Garrison said. “I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t really entertain the ‘we can’t do it’ conversation anymore.” 

He pointed not only to the Pennsylvania project, but also to additional sites across Shell’s pipeline system, including in Louisiana and Texas, where similar approaches are already demonstrating benefits. Those examples, he said, are helping address common concerns, from cost to operational constraints, by showing that habitat-focused management can align with infrastructure needs. 

As the project continues, all partners hope they can create a model that can be replicated across the energy industry, giving companies a clearer roadmap for balancing operational needs with habitat outcomes. 

“I want our findings to be used at scale,” Mahan said. “What we're doing can provide really strong data for demonstrating to the energy industry that you can promote wildlife habitat while using the landscape as you need to. To create a common way that all companies, not just shell, manage their corridors, we're talking millions and millions of acres of habitat that can be created.”