Our Land Environmental Priority Area works to minimize the impacts of oil sands operations on land and wildlife.
land Aspirations
We aspire to be world leaders in land management, restoring land and preserving biodiversity.
We bring together leading minds and experts to address land management issues in Alberta’s boreal forest. These issues are complex, so we are advancing multiple solutions.
March 2023
Catch up on some of the highlights of our recent progress in land.
land Priorities
The Land EPA is dedicated to increasing land-use efficiency and optimizing the footprint of oil sands operations.
Reduce forest disturbance intensity related to oil sands projects
Minimize impacts of oil sands mining and in situ operations on land and wildlife
Return disturbed land to natural habitat faster
What we’re doing
We’re working to mitigate the impact of oil sands development on Alberta’s boreal forests.
New techniques and approaches have helped us use land more efficiently. We achieved a 10% reduction in the operating footprint intensity of in situ operations between 2012 and 2022.
COSIA and the Regional Industry Caribou Collaboration are working on innovative and sustainable approaches to boreal caribou recovery. The many current initiatives are detailed in our Caribou Knowledge Extension Library.
Our Restoration and Reclamation Virtual Tours give you the chance to see innovation in action. See how new approaches to restoration and reclamation practices are making big differences when it comes time to reforest oil sands sites.
Land disturbance and reclamation activities are reported to the Alberta Energy Regulator. Consistent definitions across in situ and mining operations give a clear picture of the current state of these efforts.
The Canadian Conservation & Land Management Knowledge Network (CCLM) is a forum for sharing information and lessons learned. CCLM has a diverse range of content focused on three areas: boreal caribou, land management and wetland knowledge.
We want to hear from anyone with an idea—academics, researchers, inventors, entrepreneurs—that can help us improve land management in Alberta’s oil sands. Explore the current innovation opportunities to see where you can contribute.
Challenge | Tags | Details | |
---|---|---|---|
Refining Strategies for Reducing Exploration Footprints | Land |
This innovation opportunity is forward looking, whereby in situ operators are focused on reducing exploration footprint across the oil sands region by focusing only on future projects or project expansions at existing project and doing the following: |
Download Challenge Brief |
Read more about our efforts to increase the efficiency of land management.