The Alberta government says it’s moving ahead with the oil and gas industry to restore habitat for dwindling caribou herds.
The province announced Saturday that work is beginning that will eventually see trees planted along thousands of kilometres of land that were cleared for seismic lines in the Little Smoky and A La Peche caribou rangelands.
The work starts with compiling a restoration guide, as well as setting up a pilot project along 70 kilometres of seismic lines in the spring.
A $200,000 contract will be issued to source and grow the trees for the pilot project, and $800,000 will be earmarked for an operational plan to restore 3,900 kilometres of lines.
The federal government has given provinces until 2017 to come up with range plans and recovery strategies for caribou herds, which are in danger across the country.
The Alberta government released a draft plan for caribou protection in its northern and central regions in June, where one particularly threatened herd has declined to only a few dozen.