The Winona State University Geoscience Earth Talk Series will host “Domestic Energy Development Benefits: at What Cost? Bakken Oil Field Observations” with Barry Drazkowski at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, in Science Laboratory Center, room 120.
Drazkowski’s talk will discuss the impact of the U.S.’s shift from a net energy consumer to a net energy producer. The shift is a result of the increased production of natural gas due to the development of reserves such as the Bakken field in North Dakota and the opening of numerous gas fields around the country by fracking technologies.
Drazkowski has been the Executive Director of GeoSpatial Services of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota for the last 15 years and is the current president of the Minnesota Division of the Izaak Walton League. Responsible for developing the Upper Mississippi River Basin Stewardship Initiative, he spent 10 years as biologist and manager with the Fish and Wildlife Service and USGS. Drazkowski sits on Congressman Ron Kind’s Mississippi River Advisory Committee and is currently an active member of the ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, committee that is responsible for drafting Hydraulic Fracturing Operations Reporting standards. The first 10 years of his career were spent with the Corps of Engineers as an environmental planner in the St. Paul District.
Drazkowski enjoys spending time with his wife and five kids on their Buffalo County, Wis., farm; duck hunting on the Mississippi River; deer hunting; and occasional big-game hunting.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information about the Geoscience Earth Talks Series or event descriptions, contact Toby Dogwiler at 507-457-5260.
