For a long time, Forrest Smith was essentially a one-man team at the National Park Service. His crucial job? To find and fix the numerous abandoned oil and gas wells scattered throughout our cherished national parks.
However, just last month, his four-year contract with the Park Service was not renewed.
This decision leaves a significant void, raising serious questions about who will now tackle the estimated 93 abandoned wells on federal lands managed by the Park Service. These sites pose an urgent threat, capable of releasing potent planet-warming gases into our atmosphere and polluting vital groundwater supplies, endangering both the environment and public health.
Smith, 40, expressed his concern, stating, “There’s nobody left in the national parks who can confidently oversee this work with the expertise that I have. I don’t think you could just pick somebody up and throw them in and expect them to do a really great job.”
Across the country, federal lands are dotted with old oil wells. Many of these date back to before the national parks even existed. Often, the companies responsible for these wells went out of business, leaving the sites abandoned—hence the term ‘orphaned’ wells.
Research indicates that these orphaned wells are not just eyesores; they can actively release methane, a potent greenhouse gas accelerating climate change, and benzene, a known carcinogen linked to blood cancers. Furthermore, oil and brine from these sites can contaminate aquifers, threatening the drinking water of nearby communities.
Having been in the role since 2019, Smith found it surprising that the Trump administration didn’t keep him on, especially given its general focus on bolstering fossil fuel industries and their workers, even during significant government events. He noted, ‘You’d think that in this administration, the petroleum engineer would be pretty protected.’
Under the previous Biden administration, Smith was part of a four-person team dedicated to inspecting and sealing abandoned wells with cement. The other three engineers on his team departed in recent months for different opportunities. The agency has not replaced any of them, nor has it filled Smith’s critical position, citing President Trump’s directive for a hiring freeze on civilian federal employees.
Image: Workers plugging an orphaned well in Texas in 2021.
Elizabeth Peace, a spokesperson for the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, stated via email that the agency does not comment on personnel matters. She added that the Park Service “has made strong progress in meeting the administration’s priorities to identify and plug orphaned wells on park lands,” and that “staffing levels naturally fluctuate as appointments conclude and new positions are filled.”
The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law allocated a substantial $4.7 billion to states, tribes, and federal bodies like the Park Service and Forest Service, specifically for plugging abandoned wells across the nation. Adam Peltz, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, voiced his apprehension: ‘Now that there’s no one to mind the shop, I’m concerned that either these projects will stop happening or there will be no one watching to ensure that our taxpayer dollars are being spent properly.’
Smith estimates that Park Service lands contain approximately 2,500 inactive wells, with 93 of them being ‘orphaned.’ Alarmingly, he noted that around 70 of these abandoned wells are actively leaking methane.
Methane is a silent, invisible threat, contributing to roughly one-third of all global warming. Its presence can sometimes be undeniable, as backpackers recently discovered in Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park when a methane plume from a leaky well emitted a loud hissing noise audible from a nearby trail.
Such hazardous wells aren’t confined to one area; they can be found throughout the picturesque valleys and gorges of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as interspersed among the bayou canals of Louisiana’s Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.
A comprehensive analysis by the National Parks Conservation Association and FracTracker Alliance revealed over 168,000 orphaned wells exist within a 30-mile radius of national parks. Experts believe many more remain undocumented.
Beau Kiklis, associate director of energy and landscape conservation at the National Parks Conservation Association, emphasized, “I don’t think I can underscore enough that this has been a significantly underestimated public health and safety problem.”
Beyond national park boundaries, states continue to plug orphaned wells, utilizing grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law. The Interior Department has maintained this distribution, despite the Trump administration’s broader efforts to recover billions in other climate-related funds. Notably, in July, the agency announced that grant recipients were no longer required to study the environmental impact of well cleanups on endangered species or historical artifacts.
In Pennsylvania, a state historically reliant on natural gas, the environmental protection office is actively plugging 59 wells with federal assistance, according to spokesman Neil Shader. He noted that the department has successfully sealed an additional 315 wells since Governor Josh Shapiro assumed office in 2023.
Image: An orphan well site in Colorado.
Plugging wells within the Park Service is an intricate and demanding process. Teams often have to transport heavy construction machinery across challenging landscapes—deserts, dense forests, and rugged mountains. Once on site, Smith explained, they meticulously seal the well pipes by injecting them with multiple layers of cement.
After his departure from the Park Service last month, Smith swiftly sought new employment. His persistence paid off, and he recently began a new role as the director of engineering at TAQ Energy, an oil and gas consulting firm based in Denver.
In his new capacity, he continues his vital work of plugging orphaned wells, now collaborating with state entities and private companies rather than the federal government.