The objective of Syncrude's land reclamation research program is to identify and develop cost-effective land
reclamation strategies and techniques to achieve acceptable reclamation for all combinations of materials surfaces and ecological situations which will be encountered during the Syncrude Project. At the present time Syncrude's land reclamation research program consists of l.9 active in-house projects organized into 5 categories as follows : tailings sand reclamation, overburden reclamation, woody plant propagation and performance, soil biology, and small mammal research.
Syncrude's land reclamation objective is to establish on all disturbed land surfaces resulting from the Syncrude
project, terrestrial ecosystems which are erosion- controlling, self-maintaining, compatible with the designated end land use (forestry, recreation, or wildlife), and at least as productive as those existing prior to disturbance.