The Osage Nation is taking important steps to address orphaned oil and gas wells across tribal lands through comprehensive land surveys, environmental stewardship, and long-term remediation planning.
As part of this effort, Geographic Communication Systems (GCS) developed a GIS-based Orphan Well Database solution designed to help the Osage Nation centralize well information, streamline field inspections, monitor remediation activities, and improve reporting capabilities.
Building a Modern Geospatial Foundation
Managing orphaned wells requires more than locating abandoned infrastructure. Tribal environmental programs must also track inspections, document remediation activities, maintain historical records, and support grant and regulatory reporting.
GCS proposed a comprehensive ArcGIS-based platform that would:
- Centralize orphan well locations and inspection records
- Track remediation activities and timelines
- Support mobile field data collection
- Provide real-time dashboards and reporting
- Improve collaboration across departments
- Create a long-term system for environmental stewardship and decision-making
Field-to-Office Workflows
A key component of the proposed solution was enabling Osage Nation staff to collect and update information directly from the field using ArcGIS Field Maps and Survey123.
Field personnel would be able to:
- Locate orphan wells in the field
- Capture inspection information
- Record remediation activities
- Attach photographs and supporting documentation
- Synchronize data with centralized GIS systems
These mobile workflows help reduce manual data entry, improve data quality, and ensure that information collected in the field is immediately available to decision-makers.
Interactive Dashboards and Reporting
GCS proposed ArcGIS Dashboards to provide leadership and environmental staff with real-time visibility into program activities.
Dashboards would support:
- Well inventory status
- Inspection completion rates
- Remediation progress
- Geographic distribution of orphan wells
- Regulatory and grant reporting requirements
By transforming data into actionable information, dashboards help organizations prioritize resources and make informed decisions.
Experience Supporting Tribal Governments
GCS brings more than two decades of experience delivering GIS solutions for tribal governments, environmental agencies, and natural resource programs. Relevant tribal projects include:
- Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes forestry management systems
- Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes GIS planning and assessment initiatives
- Kalispel Tribe environmental monitoring and water quality applications
These projects demonstrate GCS’s experience building secure, scalable geospatial systems that support environmental stewardship, field operations, and long-term organizational success.
Looking Ahead
The Osage Nation’s orphan well initiative demonstrates how geospatial technology can support environmental restoration efforts while creating a sustainable framework for future management.
By combining centralized databases, mobile field tools, interactive dashboards, and enterprise GIS best practices, organizations can improve visibility into environmental assets, strengthen regulatory compliance, and make better-informed decisions.
At GCS, we are proud to support tribal governments and environmental organizations with GIS solutions that transform data into actionable intelligence and support responsible stewardship of natural resources.
You must be logged in to post a comment.