[1][2] In 2019, Curtis Shuck, a former oil and gas executive of 30 years, was in Shelby, MT meeting with farmers when he discovered abandoned oil and gas wells scattered around the town's farm fields.
[7] The organization started its pilot project in its home state and plugged its first well, known as Anderson #3, in Toole County, Montana, in April 2020.
[2] WDF continued to expand its operations across the United States throughout 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, including Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Kansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
A budget is prepared for the project and a campaign is established to raise funds for the well's plugging and costs for surface restoration.
[12] Once the funding goal is reached, contractors are employed to carry out the plugging process and a gel is pumped through the well's piping, then filled with concrete.