Restore the land, reclaim a culture: perspective from Cold Lake First Nations on the restoration of in-situ oil sites

Over the last 50 years, oil and gas development has significantly affected Alberta’s landscapes. For traditional in-situ oil development, land had to be clear for conventional wells, roads, seismic lines, pipelines, and... [ view full abstract ]

Over the last 50 years, oil and gas development has significantly affected Alberta’s landscapes. For traditional in-situ oil development, land had to be clear for conventional wells, roads, seismic lines, pipelines, and needed facilities. In 2014, the area impacted by disturbances from historical oil and gas was estimated to 10 000km². While provincial law includes provisions for reclaiming sites at the end of their productive life, much discussion arises regarding the ecological value of restoration practices and their social acceptability.

In an attempt to develop a science-based approach to better and faster restore landscapes disturbed by oil industry activity, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), launched a pilot research project in the Cold Lake area, an area covered by Treaty #6. A brief exploration of scientific and grey literature revealed important gaps with regards to the understanding of First Nations’ perspective on land reclamation and restoration. Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN), a signatory of Treaty #6, had already stressed a major disconnect between current restoration practices and the community’s values and needs. Thus, NRCan and CLFN developed a collaborative research initiative to address this gap, and document how landscape restoration could better reflect the needs and values of the community. The project relies on field visits, secondary information, and group discussion to collect information. Infographic and graphic recording were used to capture and display main points of the rich exchanges. Infographic also served to display key elements that underpin CLFN’s perspective about restoration. This presentation will introduce those key elements, which reflects a holistic approach to restoration; one that weaves the need to restore ecological features and functions with the cultural and spiritual relation the Dene of Cold Lake has had with the land since time immemorial.