Bighorn Sheep LJ0161

Wildlife habitat has been accepted as an end land use objective for reclamation of open pit coal mines in Alberta since Cardinal River Coals Ltd. submitted one of the first reclamation plans for wildlife habitat in the late 1970’s. Reclamation of coal mines in the Alberta Foothills has produced habitat for a variety of wildlife. Bighorn sheep are a key indicator species at Cardinal River and have been studied for years. Portions of the healthy and expanding population have been transplanted to the USA to re-establish historic herds. This project includes best practices and learnings regarding the management of large ungulates at mine sites and conservation practices that demonstrate sustainability, which are relevant to future joint industry projects. This project contains a 1997 Final Report, a 2003 Technical Paper, and a 2006 Journal Article, all authored by Beth MacCallum.

The 2003 Technical Paper discusses reclamation to wildlife habitat and wildlife response at the Luscar and Gregg River Mines, as well as reclamation planning for wildlife habitat for the Cheviot Mine. All three mines are open pit metallurgical mines located in west-central Alberta. Wildlife diversity is maintained by an ecosystem approach to reclamation that restores pre-mine habitat condition, replaces habitat function, and exchanges certain components for others of similar benefit. The 1997 Final Report describes annual distribution and habitat use of nineteen bighorn sheep that were radio-collared in 1992-1993 at the Cardinal River and Greg River Mines areas, going into great detail. Overall, the bighorn population in that area at the time of the paper’s publication was doing well and exceeding management objectives. The 2006 paper discussed test results for 282 bighorn sheep captured on the mine sites for health and trace element testing prior to translocation or for release on site. The results show a high quality bighorn sheep population that has had little, if any, contact with domestic livestock.