Since the 1960�s, reclamation of oil and gas facilities has been guided by provincial regulations within Alberta. The most recent reclamation criteria update, �The 2010 Reclamation Criteria for Wellsites and Associated facilities for Native Grasslands� was released in 2010 and was developed to provide an assessment criteria and methodology for reclamation within the grassland region of Alberta. The purpose of the 2010 Criteria was to provide a science based assessment criteria to determine whether a site has met equivalent land capability that is clearly defined, statistically viable, and enforceable for non-compliance. The native grassland vegetation assessment utilizes similar concepts as the existing range health assessment techniques; however, the reclamation criteria requires more detailed data collection and �addresses landscape, vegetation as well as soil parameters. This criteria compares the disturbed area to an adjacent offsite area within a similar plant community type and landscape position. The criteria is designed to be robust enough to be applied on virtually any site type and with the flexibility to adapt to anomalies. This presentation will provide a step by step walk through of the final reclamation assessment process in Alberta from desktop preparation to using the criteria on a reclaimed site, and how we interpret the results to determine if the site is on a trajectory towards meeting its potential for equivalent land capability.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.