Applications and Costs of Wildlife Habitat Reclamation

The costs and methods of wildlife habitat reclamation are discussed for three examples. The first example, the Cascade Landfill site in Banff National Park, illustrates the approach and costs of reclaiming wildlife habitat after a site has been abandoned. The second example, the Healy gravel pit in Banff National Park, shows how wildlife habitat reclamation can be incorporated into the site development plan at little or no extra cost. The third example, the Olsen Consolidation Pond, illustrates how wildlife habitat reclamation can be integrated with other land uses (in this case, agriculture), and in doing so, help to reduce the cost of the overall development. Although new techniques for the reclamation of wildlife habitat are being and have been developed at a number of industrial sites in Alberta, and the utility of these methods are apparent, there is a need to monitor the success of these methods in developing or enhancing wildlife habitat.