Keystone XL: Animals That Stood In The Pipeline's Path (PHOTOS)

With Obama's recent permit rejection of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the project's political and economic considerations have stood at the front of discourse and protest. One important group lacks a voice and is often left out of the discussion, however.

A region through which the pipeline would pass, Nebraska's Sand Hills, is home to a number of important animal species, like bison and vulnerable birds.

Along with impressive biodiversity, the region also boasts the Ogallala Aquifer which supplies drinking water to around two million people. The preservation of the Sand Hills' aquifer was an important concern for both environmentalists and Nebraska's Republican governor Dave Heineman.

The Sand Hills, which cover a quarter of Nebraska's land area, are part of a "very delicate" region that isn't suitable for crops, according to National Geographic.

Below, check out photos from Nebraska native Joel Sartore, who captured images of the impressive animal species that call the pipeline's route home.

For a look at the humans that stood in the way and influenced the Keystone XL pipeline debate, click here for images from 2011 protests around the country..

Images courtesy of Joel Sartore. For more of Joel's pictures, visit the National Geographic website.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Deep Thinking Man]

05:08 PM on 01/23/2012

many here have made valid points...others...because of no common-sense...not so much !!!!...there was an article here at HP a few months ago about Earth-quakes in Maine, a state where there had been none before...the reason this happened, was fracking was being done in a different part of the country...for every action...there is an opposite and equal re-action !!!!!!

with all of the drilling, spills, leaks, and supposed clean-ups, which aren't actual clean-ups, the damage to Mother Earth will soon be irrepairable !!!!!!...inevitably, Mother Earth will be a Dead-Zone thanks to greed and wastefulness !!!!!!

we can rely on Nature to fill our needs/neccessities...but WE must make it happen...politicians and corporations won't !!!!!!...we must regain our ingenuity and knowledge and learn how to live with Nature !!!!!!

as for the pheasant...they were imported !!!!!!...from where else ????...CHINA !!!!!!

[celcius232]

12:50 AM on 01/24/2012

By that reasoning, when I flush the toilet in Montana, I am causing a flood in Louisiana.

[traceymarie]

09:59 AM on 01/24/2012

are you always this ignorant or do you save these displays for posting on websites?

[HLL]

12:14 PM on 01/24/2012

Well said, DTM.

“There is hope
if people will begin to awaken that Spiritual part of themselves,
that heartfelt knowledge
that we are caretakers of this planet.”
~ Brooke Medicine Eagle

[Deep Thinking Man]

06:20 PM on 01/24/2012

HLL, my friend...we've all lost our instinctiveness...if we were to live in simplicity, and not materialistically, Mother Earth would heal Herself much more rapidly, and you already know this !!!!!...i'd love to see this country return to the way it should be, but that will be my un-realized dream !!!!!

TracieMarie...thank you !!!!!

celcius...think about this: due to the fracking and drilling, which causes Earth-Quakes, which in turn causes Earth shifts, Oklahoma's oil wells are sinking into huge sink-holes. each tiny movement that we humans make, affects Mother Earth !!!!!!...i also hope that you understand the Mother Earth is out of balance thanks to man's need to build huge cities (New York City is the size of a small mountain range), and constant tampering with Nature !!!!!

[field-man]

04:39 PM on 01/23/2012

In most soft soil conditions a pipe crew could put in 1 mile of pipe a day and seed it with native grass and in 2 months the wildlife would be standing on top of the cut eating the green grass, the only one standing in the way is Obama and his picture should be on the slide show

[Linus521]

05:44 AM on 01/24/2012

The pipeline will kill multi thousands of acres of ecosystems or boreal, wetland, riverine and grassland systems. Native grasses could work in a prairie, but how would they establish in the shade of pines and firs? Plant and animal biological diversity is site specific. The animals of the boreal system can't make a living from a grass than requires sunlight.

Are they going to plant the same grass in a wetland, again, what is native to a wetland would be transported, introduced, invasive and non-native in another system. Tragically, once the soil is disturbed, dead, invasive, non-native, opportunistic weeds quickly take over in each one of the disturbed and deforested ecosystems, making the systems' wildfires, faster, more intense and more frequent!

To-date, man has not successfully re-created an ecosystems once it is gone. The pipeline will fragment these systems into smaller plots, changing the dynamics of predator/prey, opening up the system so more predators can kill more prey. Thus endangering a rainbow of Creation.

A thing is right when it preserves the integrity, stability and beauty of an ecosystem. It is wrong otherwise, and this pipeline violates this deep, ecological statement.

[field-man]

11:36 AM on 01/24/2012

You have a lot of drama, they can plant trees also. and as I have stated native grass

[Berettasskeeter]

12:36 PM on 01/24/2012

Why would this pipeline do that, when the others have NOT??!!
Semper fi

[traceymarie]

10:00 AM on 01/24/2012

lmao...bury it and your head in the ground...never see the problem then

[AgainstAnimalAbuse]

10:15 PM on 01/22/2012

Obama will approve it after the election, the delay is only temporary to get votes from those favoring the environment, unions are for it too. Wildlife does not stand a chance against all those groups that could care less if natural habitats are destroyed and/or spills will occur.

[Mister Grumpy]

11:52 PM on 01/22/2012

Sadly, you're correct.

[Linus521]

02:31 AM on 01/23/2012

Tragically, for mankind, this alone, proves, we are killing all the reasons mankind exists and breathes. The animals depicted in this article are biological diversity, the strands in the web of all life and the rivets holding spaceship Earth, altogether. The very animals that create and sustain Earth's ecosystems, the natural, physical body of planet Earth.

Ecosystems are in the eco-nomy of life itself. Now, we are discussing the breath of all life. The gravest issue regarding this hideous devour-er of Earth is, this pipeline would have devoured multi-thousands of acres of boreal, wetland, riverine, and grassland ecosystem, or life itself. Regardless, if the USA thwarts this pipeline, Canada will continue with killing thousands of acres of ecosystems and biological diversity as they are clueless as to why the Earth creates oxygen and life.

[AgainstAnimalAbuse]

11:23 AM on 01/24/2012

Humans are the scurge of the earth, and our arrogance prevents us from seeing that we are causing our own demise.

[Ipanemagirl]

08:38 PM on 01/22/2012

why did they force Obama to make a decision in a hurry, before the EPA could make a realistic evaluation of the CONSEQUENCES? They wanted to pass it through before the people get to hear aboout it and start fighting against it , thats why! Now I hope the news will sperad like wildfire and people gwt together to oppose this monstrosity...if this goes through, there is no more he for us as humans to survive the effects of global warming,,,,so who needs this dirty fuel then , when we are all drowning? why not invest in alternative clean fuels creating companies and jobs in the USA for solar, wind, creating new ones out of garbage , etc...

[intolleft]

08:11 AM on 01/23/2012

All 14 proposed routes for the XL have been under review for the past three years and there is 10000 pages of environmental impact studies to back it up. There is nothing left to study. Nothing was rushed, nothing was hidden.

[llwlknsn]

09:49 AM on 01/23/2012

And placing it over an aquifer, was what? An oversight? Do you even understand how corrosive bitumen slurry is?

http://www.tarsandsaction.org/spread-the-word/key-facts-keystone-xl/

None of that oil is slated for American consumption and yet the Government of Canada wants the US to shoulder the burden for the environmental fall out. By all means ROUTE the pipeline to Vancouver or British Columbia. Keep it OUT of the US.

[Deep Thinking Man]

05:12 PM on 01/23/2012

Ipanemagirl...i must fan you for your knowledge and passion on the subject of alternative energies, and how to help save this country !!!!!

[sir steveoh]

08:27 PM on 01/22/2012

Yes, and just imagine how hard it would have been if there wasn't a road to travel to take those wonderful agricultural photos from.

[Ipanemagirl]

08:40 PM on 01/22/2012

yeah, the transamazonian road was the beginning of the demiseof the amazon! to preserve ecosystems we must keep humans OUT, not make roads to bring them in..

[Linus521]

02:33 AM on 01/23/2012

Brilliant and scientific commentary, Ipanemagirl. You articulated in a few words, the countless ways man is killing ecosystems or destroying the very Earth and her ability to create and support all life.

[robodawa]

08:18 PM on 01/22/2012

The XL took me back to the walking nightmare that was James Watt.
What a horror. He ruined so much of the outdoors. And the wildlife and this pipeline are one thing.
It is the fragile aquifer underneath that must be held sacrosanct and unsullied.

[Berettasskeeter]

01:08 PM on 01/24/2012

What part of the "outdoors" stands in ruin today, due to Watts?
Semper fi

[Kenz300]

08:14 PM on 01/22/2012

Republicans do not believe in regulations.......

Let the market do what the market does..........

That thinking gave us the BP oil spill....

That thinking gave us the Massey coal mine disaster....

That thinking gave us the Wall Street collapse.......

Capitalism needs regulation or it runs off the rails. The greedy privatize the profits and socialize the clean up.

It is time to vote all Republicans out of office. They are too extreme. Greed has gone too far.

[Ipanemagirl]

08:42 PM on 01/22/2012

you are absolutely right,,,,but as long as we have Fox News trying to hide those facts from the masses, nobody will believe us! so nothing will get done!

[Sodakbull]

09:18 AM on 01/23/2012

Yah, the Democrats are angels. If you belevice that, then I have a rain forest in North Dakota that I will give you. One party rule will destroy this country for everyone.

[Louis Tyson]

04:47 PM on 01/23/2012

It's not that Capitalism needs more regulations, it is that we need a new economic system all together. The US has had it for what? 100 year? And it has almost torn this country apart more time than we can count. The reality is that Capitalism only lasts 10 years before it screws everyone over. Regulations just postpone the inevitable.

[GaiasChild]

02:20 PM on 01/22/2012

not only that but similar pipe under either yellowstone or musselshell river in montana breached and dumped all its ugly into the river and downstream. sorry we have to use the stuff but we don't have to make the animals drink it.

[Ipanemagirl]

08:43 PM on 01/22/2012

wildlife hould have rights too , and we should be forced to respect it or get jailed or at least fined heavily for polluting.

[Linus521]

02:41 AM on 01/23/2012

Tragically, this nation's wildlife are biological diversity, in the eco-nomy of all life as they are the creators and supporters of ecosystems, all the reasons mankind breathes! Science maintains, the extinction of biological diversity is, about as safe for human existence as global, thermonuclear war.

We are living in an era of an extinction rate of biological diversity, 1,000 times higher than normal. In all his plethora of ways and means, man is killing all the reasons he exists, and the strands in the web of all life. The great web is the Earth and her strands are ecosystems; ecosystems are the Earth's web of all life and her strands are biological diversity or natural, native plants and wildlife. The real, physical body of Earth, the alpha and omega.

[Sodakbull]

12:34 PM on 01/22/2012

This article is absolute proof that the stopping the pipeline construction is abosolute politics. People who are protesting the pipeline are simply using the the bison, pheasant and praire chicken as a convenient heart string puller to have their way. The bison and the pheasant population would be virtually unaffected by the pipeline construction.

Is it any wonder why the job creators are choosing to build their businesses overseas rather than trying to deal with ir rational people like this. People need to realize that decisions like this arent made in a vacuum. It has repercussions thru out the business world. It says dont even think of investing in a new business beccause some politician can stop it for no good reason.

[KarlaElisa]

01:58 PM on 01/22/2012

job creators are choosing to build their businesses overseas because they can pay someone .30 an hour and make them work horrendous hours and they risk long term imprisonment if they even utter the word 'union'.

[Sodakbull]

02:21 PM on 01/22/2012

That is somewhat of a myth too. Businesses that need highly skilled labor can't pay someone 30 cents and hour and hope to have any quality of product when they are done. Labor cost are only a small part of the issue on where a company chooses to loacate its production facility. Its called a business climate and the business climate in the US is getting worse and worse all the time. Aboma certainly didn't help it with this decision because he just doesn't understand it.

[sir steveoh]

08:32 PM on 01/22/2012

It's why I choose Chinese made products, they know how to get things done. Just imagine America with a totalitarian government, how profitable and on time.

[Sodakbull]

08:56 AM on 01/23/2012

I suggest you go live in China then and please take all your totalitarian friends with you.

[Linus521]

05:50 AM on 01/24/2012

Right, all the dog food the Chinese poisoned and shipped to our cherished pets, and all the children's toys saturated in lead. Yup, those Chinese products are all so well made, so wholesome and so good for America.

Scary thinking here, Sir.

[Artemesian]

10:01 AM on 01/22/2012

Environmen­talists consider the Exon Valdez accident a part of the Alaskan pipeline but we all know it was a ship on the ocean that hit a rock.

Don't forget the captain was drunk when the Valdez ran aground on Bligh reef and the hit the rocks. You always have to factor in for human error in these things. ;) No self-respecting environmentalist would cause an oil spill, only extremists that would give environmentalists a bad name.

Meanwhile, we all talk a good game and complain about the damage to the environment and anima and bird populations, but world demand for power continues to rise, and with 7 billion of us on the planet (and counting) it's only gonna get worse.

[Robert Lee Harrington]

01:32 PM on 01/22/2012

Don't forget that:

Exxon refused to spend a few hundred dollars to fix the radar that would have warned that Bligh Reef was dead ahead.

Exxon still (20 years later) has not paid the Court Judgment against it.

The salmon runs Never came back.

There is still spilled oil that will Never be cleaned up.

[blackwind]

03:53 PM on 01/22/2012

If the Alaska pipeline didn't end in Prince William Sound, there wouldn't have been a tanker in there to hit the rocks, so it isn't unreasonable to consider the Valdez disaster a part of the pipeline operations.

[karen lyons kalmenson]

09:40 AM on 01/22/2012

each "side" of this issue can pull whatever #s, true or false, to justify their position.

i am for the earth and ALL her inhabitants, so of course i applaud the president's stance, even if it was based upon which choice would win/lose how many votes

[KarlaElisa]

01:59 PM on 01/22/2012

X2

[karen lyons kalmenson]

02:06 PM on 01/22/2012

☻♥

[Linus521]

03:07 AM on 01/23/2012

And, this was a win, win for the Earth as this pipeline would have killed [and will kill in Canada] multi-thousands of acres of boreal, wetland, riverine and grassland ecosystems or all the reasons man breathes. Ecosystems are the eco-nomy of all life, the real, natural Earth that seeded all life and maintains it, right today.

Man isn't alive because of magic or flower fairies; man only exists because of ecosystems, that which this pipeline would have killed forevermore. As man cannot re-create an ecosystem upon death, this is a vital and necessary issue.

You voted, correctly, my friend.

[karen lyons kalmenson]

05:41 AM on 01/23/2012

the earth mother comes first, she sustains us and our brother creatures♥

[Artemesian]

09:38 AM on 01/22/2012

Even though pipelines are safer and least disruptive methods for transporting oil, the point is that the shallow Ogallala aquifer could be polluted in the event of a spill, threatening people animals and crops in our country's breadbasket. That's the risk of all pipelines. Greedy executives and politicians shouldn't rush this project through without the necessary consideration it deserves. They are planning to reroute - but why they wanted to smash through such a delicate and important area in the first place I can't imagine.

Ring-necked pheasants may not have been native to America, but again due to mankind's interference with nature they are here now, so they are now part of the bird population.

[celcius232]

11:08 AM on 01/22/2012

The threat to the Ogallala is a overplayed falsehood. When there is a leak detected by a pressure drop (24/7 automatic shutdown system), the only voleum that can leak, is from the isolated section between valve stations. So remember that there is only a finite ammout of crude that can leak,. The it actually has to infiltrate though the surficial sediments and encounter the water table if it is not recovered on the surface first. The potential dissolved phase plume that develops from what fraction of the spilles oil that makes it to the water table reaches a steady-state condition very fast mostly due to the low viscosity of the oil, slow dissolution of soluble components, and bacterial biodegradation. Talk to any petroleum cleanup specialist and they will tell you the resulting dissolved phase plumes never make it more than 500 feet away from the spill site due to these processes. Subsurface spill sites have been studied to death all over the country, but apparently no one knows this or cares to ignore it when talking about pipeline construction and veiled threats to an aquifer that the farmers abuse the hell out of with ag chemicals and irrigation pumping. Go ask the leading hydrologist at the University of Nebraksa, he agrees.

[KarlaElisa]

02:00 PM on 01/22/2012

keystone already has a pipeline in the states. it's less than 2 years old and has experienced at least a dozen leaks already. if i pour a quart of oil out on the ground NOBODY thinks this is a good thing. how in the world could their pipeline oozing bitumen out be considered acceptable?

[Ipanemagirl]

08:56 PM on 01/22/2012

its not safer than any oil rigs,,,yet people keep wanting more of them, and they do spill and they do enormous damage when they do...lots of suffering animals, birds, fish, dolphins, turtles, plants, will die a slow and horrible death from coming in contact with the oil. Sad that people dismiss their pain, just for more profit.The ugly side of humans is exposed.

[Linus521]

03:15 AM on 01/23/2012

These are not merely, just animals; these animals are biological diversity, the strands in the web of all life or all the reasons man breathes, the animals in the eco-nomy of all life as they create and support Earth's ecosystems, the totality of our living Earth's ability to create and sustain all life, including man's.

Man is not breathing and alive because of pipelines, energies, jobs or a few pieces of silver; he exists only because of an ecosystem dependent planet Earth, in the business of all life. The veritable breath of all life. If an animal or plant is native to an ecosystem, he is a vital rivet holding spaceship Earth, altogether. Man's best friends on the Earth.

[quillerm]

09:27 AM on 01/22/2012

Cancelling the Keystone pipeline will increase the amount of oil products shipped on fuel trucks. Thousands of fuel trucks will drive millions of miles on our highways polluting the air, increasing accidents and spills. Over 5000 people per year are killed in fuel truck accidents. The Alaskan pipeline had one spill during it's existence. A radical environmentalist placed a explosive charge on the pipeline. It took 24 hours to totally clean up the spill and no lives were lost. Environmentalists consider the Exon Valdez accident a part of the Alaskan pipeline but we all know it was a ship on the ocean that hit a rock. That's like blaming the Alaskan pipeline for a fuel truck accident in Alabama.

[lvogt]

03:16 PM on 01/23/2012

Then they should just build a refinery in place so they won't have to ship the oil south just to ship the gasoline back north. The company has not yet made good on the Valdez cleanup.

[SweetClarissa]

08:17 PM on 01/24/2012

"The company has not yet made good on the Valdez cleanup." Well then when they do pay they sure as heck should pay the same interest that the IRS would charge me!

[Willie Qwit]

09:19 AM on 01/22/2012

Couldn't they use a bulldozer to push those bison out of the way? Kidding!

[Non Mormon]

11:52 AM on 01/22/2012

or just kill them.humans like doing that

[The joint chief]

09:14 AM on 01/22/2012

It's a tired worn out argument. lets show some pictures of cute animals and everyone will melt, case in point, how's the caribou herd in alaska doing these days?. These animals not only adapt but thrive following these projects. BTW, when was the last time any of you spent time in the "wild' with any of these animals, you might be surprised that these cute and cuddly animals are quite vicious.

[Ipanemagirl]

09:01 PM on 01/22/2012

that is the most ridiculous argument I've heard so far! I dont protect wildlife because I want to play with them and pet them. I protect them because they deserve to live, just like you seem to think you do.! They are all part of our ecosystem, and a world w/o nature would not only be depressing , but probably also unsustainable for human existence. One must think a bit beyond our noses!

[The joint chief]

10:00 PM on 01/22/2012

First of all, I work in the energy industry, I am also an environmentalist, a hunter and fisherman, my family recycles and we respect the environment. So i have spent a few hours in the field, not read about it in a book or magazine. So i'm quite comfortable making that comment in respect to animal management. What qualifies you.

[Linus521]

06:02 AM on 01/24/2012

If the science of ecology possesses any credibility, Ipanemagirl, you nailed it. If all of our native species were to disappear, it's lights out for man.

Take for instance birds [native birds only]. Birds' jobs are seed dispersal and planting plants and trees, pest control, and the control and regulation of disease pathogens in the food chain with man that cause epidemics. Swallows consume thousands of mosquitoes in a day, the number one vector of human diseases. Frogs and lizards are also in this eco-nomy.