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MOVING FROM RECLAMATION TO RESTORATION IN ALBERTA RANGELANDS: APPLICATION OF RANGE SCIENCE TOOLS AND POLICY
Author
Mcgillivray, Susan E.
Neville, Marilyn
Lancaster, Jane
Adams, Barry
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2015
Body

Alberta's Energy industry has been disturbing native grasslands in Alberta since the early 1900's. In 1963 Alberta became the first province in Canada to enact legislation specifically focused on land reclamation. For the next roughly 40 years, the predominant goal of reclamation for the energy developments was to re-contour the landscape and stabilize the soil by seeding agronomic species or native cultivars. In the past several decades there has been a growing awareness of the disturbance impacts of various land use activities like oil and gas development on biodiversity and the health and function of Alberta's remaining native prairie rangelands and the need to develop reclamation practices that restore native plant communities. The path to restoration was long and continues. The following range science tools were developed in Alberta throughout 1998 to 2012 and have lead the advancement that occurred in the field of native grassland restoration in Alberta including: Range Plant Community Guides, Range Health Assessment Field Workbook, Grassland Vegetation Inventory, Foothills Restoration Forum, Ecological Site Restoration Risk Analysis report, 2010 Grassland Reclamation Criteria for Well sites and Associated Facilities, and Recovery Strategies for Industrial Development in Native Prairie (documents by grassland Subregions). These Tools were created by gathering the knowledge and experience of Government of Alberta Rangeland Agrologists, conservation groups, landowners, reclamation practitioners and the Energy Industry, along with data collected from long term range site monitoring and research on historical disturbance trajectories. When these tools are applied in combination, they result in minimal disturbance techniques becoming standard practices for the oil and gas industry, one of the largest energy industries in Alberta's native grasslands. Where a site must be stripped to protect topsoil, the standard for restoring the site to the pre-disturbance early successional community, greatly increases the likelihood of full restoration. However, risks to restoration success are abundant. Reclamation criteria thresholds need to be tested, long term monitoring continued, and tools like the Recovery Strategies must be completed, implemented and maintained. These are just some of the essential steps to ensure the energy industry has the knowledge to establish successful restoration trajectories for native grassland ecosystems. 

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Sacramento, CA
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts