Faster Forests

The Faster Forests program has four main components: (1) planning and coordination, (2) implementation, (3) monitoring and (4) field tours/workshops. It focuses on the reclamation of disturbances such as OSE wells. Each OSE well disturbance is small (0.5 – 1.0 ha), but are numerous and widespread, contributing to forest fragmentation, and some sites return to pre-disturbance vegetation more slowly than others, prolonging this fragmentation. Reclamation often includes planting tree and shrub seedlings to reduce recovery time. An important goal of the Faster Forests program is to research and develop methods to help accelerate OSE sites along a trajectory to self-sustaining boreal forest ecosystems. This project comprises reports from two Field Tours, one in 2012 and one in 2015. The purpose of these tours is to display the ‘fruits of the program’s labour’ and provide a forum for participants in industry, academia, federal and provincial government, the regulator, and other sectors to collaborate, advance research and development, and incorporate best new practices into companies where possible.

2012 Field Tour Key Topics: (1) core hole site tree planting programs (Faster Forests); (2) site reclamation and revegetation practices; (3) wood management including coarse woody material (CWM) use and planning; (4) minimum disturbance techniques; (5) reduced mulching; (6) lease size requirements; and (7) pre-construction assessments and formal monitoring. 2015 Field Tour Key Outcomes: (1) when using cut and cap methods to prevent wellcenter subsidence, clay mounding at well center to height of 1.2 m should be standard practice; (2) engaging early in planning stage required to influence siting of OSE sites and equipment selection (e.g. self-levelling rigs, potential for natural regen); (3) construction practices have improved (e.g. use of coarse woody material) but room to refine methods, especially re. predicting level of reclamation effort required at different sites; (4) some sites recover well naturally. Clearer internal processes to support plant/no-plant decision making required; (5) nuisance/noxious weeds are an issue on sites adjacent to public access; (6) regulator recognizes that operators cannot control third party access to sites following reclamation; and (7) education of construction personnel for modification of old and deleterious construction practices is important to address in future for the Faster Forests program.