Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge is proposing to acquire a 706-acre property located in Stevens County, Washington. The new acquisition would be called the Kaniksu Unit. A habitat evaluation was conducted on the property using the Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) methodology (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1980). Evaluation species were black-capped chickadee, mallard, ruffed grouse and white-tailed deer. Life requisites evaluated were food and reproduction for black-capped chickadee, food, cover, and reproduction for mallard, available winter browse for white-tailed deer and fall-to-spring cover for ruffed grouse.

Devonian gas shales underlie approximately two-thirds of Kentucky. In the shale, natural gas is adsorbed on clay and kerogen surfaces. This is analogous to methane storage in coal beds, where CO{sub 2} is preferentially adsorbed, displacing methane. Black shales may similarly desorb methane in the presence of CO{sub 2}. Drill cuttings from the Kentucky Geological Survey Well Sample and Core Library were sampled to determine CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} adsorption isotherms. Sidewall core samples were acquired to investigate CO{sub 2} displacement of methane. An elemental capture spectroscopy log was acquired to investigate possible correlations between adsorption capacity and mineralogy. Average random vitrinite reflectance data range from 0.78 to 1.59 (upper oil to wet gas and condensate hydrocarbon maturity range). Total organic content determined from acid-washed samples ranges from 0.69 to 14 percent. CO{sub 2} adsorption capacities at 400 psi range from a low of 14 scf/ton in less organic-rich zones to more than 136 scf/ton. There is a direct correlation between measured total organic carbon content and the adsorptive capacity of the shale; CO{sub 2} adsorption capacity increases with increasing organic carbon content. Initial estimates based on these data indicate a sequestration capacity of 5.3 billion tons of CO{sub …