Footprints: The Evolution of Land Conservation and Reclamation in Alberta

Footprints: The Evolution of Land Conservation and Reclamation in Alberta is the story of how Alberta’s land conservation and reclamation program came into being and how it has progressed over the past half century. Our goal is to provide an objective description for current and future generations. We believe it may be of interest and value to practitioners actively engaged in the numerous conservation and reclamation components, to landowners whose land is being disturbed, to industrial users responsible for the disturbance, to elected and appointed officials having a moral duty to see to the land’s conservation and reclamation, and to college or university students considering a career in this or a related field. The book was initiated by several dozen retired or still-active land reclamation practitioners whose careers, in some instances, reach as far back as the 1960s. Some are still employed in public or private life, conserving and reclaiming our rich natural heritage. This is being written to help assess how effectively we have, or are, conserving our land base and providing the stewardship required to pass our legacy on to our progeny. Those participating in the book’s creation include professional writers, former and current government regulators, researchers, academics, and former to current industry reclamation managers or practitioners. Some have contributed text, memories of their actions and observations, photographs and documents, or simply fragmented recollections to help piece together this history.