Interim Reclamation Opportunities

Within oil sands operational areas there are numerous top soil and sub-soil storage piles created. These piles are an important resource for future reclamation of oil sands facilities. Traditionally these piles were seeded to grasses to help reduce erosion, and the soil was carefully smoothed during placement.

This tour walks you through a conventional top soil pile, as well as a sub-soil pile that received both a surface roughness treatment and a planting treatment. The results of the treatments are striking, showing the positive impact of creating variable microsites through surface roughness. Using these treatments, managers and operators can create valuable interim restoration opportunities within their leases.

The tour will help managers and operators see first-hand the importance of creating surface roughness on both interim and permanent reclamation sites.