Prioritizing Zones for Buried Pipeline Revegetation in Caribou Habitat

This study aimed to support woodland caribou habitat recovery in Alberta’s Cold Lake sub-region by developing a spatial framework to prioritize pipeline revegetation. The framework was designed to guide revegetation efforts toward areas with the greatest ecological benefit while accounting for cost, industrial development potential, caribou space use, and existing restoration activities. A multi-stakeholder advisory committee, including government, industry, and researchers, oversaw the technical work. The resulting decision-support tool is adaptable for use in other caribou ranges.

The prioritization framework identified townships within the Cold Lake sub-region where pipeline revegetation would yield the greatest ecological benefit for caribou while remaining cost-effective and logistically feasible. Ranked highest: (1) areas most frequently used by caribou, (2) areas with lower future industrial development potential, and (3) areas overlapping existing seismic line restoration efforts. The analysis differentiated between zones inside and outside oil sands project areas to reflect distinct regulatory and operational contexts. For detailed results, see page 18 of the report.