2024 Field Tour

On September 11-12, 2024, 41 individuals from across Alberta came together for the annual fall field tour hosted by the Land EPA of COSIA. The goal of the tour was to showcase progressive reclamation practices and discuss practical research findings at Imperial’s Cold Lake Operations and CNRL’s Wolf Lake Operations. It brought together participants from diverse professional backgrounds including individuals from research, industry, consulting, government and regulatory agencies. Over the two days, participants leveraged their unique perspectives and expertise to discuss key challenges, learnings, and opportunities for advancing progressive reclamation practices. At the end, a half-day workshop was hosted for participants to debrief what they learned on the field tour. The main workshop objective was to identify tangible next steps for advancing progressive reclamation practices and key lessons into practice.

General Tour Discussion Points: (1) evolution from planting grass/tree monocultures to native species, woody material, rough and loose soils, etc.; (2) how to re-establish forest on grass and clover sites; (3) rapid re-establishment of forests on sites with low disturbance and timely reclamation; (4) requirements re caribou ranges, adjustments from sub-regional planning directions; (5) wetland reclamation; (6) watercourse crossing removals. Specific Closure Challenges: (1) EPEA sites re certification; (2) borrow pits and caribou sub-regional planning; (3) vegetation control beside spraying; (4) conservation/reclamation data management over life span of project to minimize rework; (5) remote and field-based inquiries for reclamation certification. Other Challenges: (1) managing recent and historical data; (2) identifying opportunities for reclamation certification while providing long-term flexibility; (3) documenting beneficial practices to ensure new generation applies proven practices. Workshop and Breakout Discussion Ideas/Topics: (1) guidebook development for wetlands similar to Faster Forests program, (2) Wetland Task Force to improve knowledge sharing between diverse groups, and (3) use landscape-level planning of site construction and reclamation to avoid developments in caribou habitat, which is imperative for caribou conservation success.