Restoration within woodland caribou habitat has become a common tool in the caribou conservation and range planning toolbox in western Canada. Current programs have successfully moved restoration from an experimental concept to one that is now being applied within large portions of woodland caribou ranges within Alberta (e.g., Cenovus LiDea program).
Despite this ongoing work, organizations and consultants delivering programs have cited that a clear summary of the current state-of-knowledge related to restoration does not exist. Such a synthesis is a key tool for facilitating adaptive management within restoration programs and for expediting learnings and efficiencies in future restoration programs. To address this gap, the Regional Industry Caribou Collaboration (RICC) and Fuse Consulting Ltd. have identified that a clear opportunity exists to develop a multi-phase innovation roadmap to guide restoration programs for years to come.
The first phase of this Restoration Innovation Roadmap (this report) seeks to synthesize key learnings related to research, implementation, and monitoring of existing restoration programs. By summarizing these key learnings, the intent is to provide a clear state of knowledge related to restoration in western Canada, and to facilitate the use and adoption of these key learnings by restoration funders, consultants, environmental advisors and policy makers. A second phase of the Restoration Innovation Roadmap Project will then identify up to 30 key innovations that could drive significant improvements in ecological effectiveness and economic efficiency of restoration programs.