Alberta's New Native Plant Guidelines

The second draft of Native Plant Revegetation Guidelines for Alberta was released in June 1999 by the Native Plant Working Group. This multi-stakeholder committee has representation from provincial government agencies, various industries and nongovernment organizations. There is currently no legislation in Alberta that requires the use of native species in reclamation. However, the use of native species for reclamation projects in natural landscapes on public land can be required, if the surrounding land use and the revegetation objectives for the area warrant it. The guidelines provide a clear, consistent and integrated information package about using native plant materials where the revegetation goal is to re-establish a native plant community. The guidelines are not prescriptive. It is recognized that site specific circumstances have to be considered when planning revegetation projects. This paper reports on the process used to develop the
guidelines and the major topic areas covered by the guidelines.