In 2004 and 2005, methods for restoring the damage done to the permafrost layer of an exploration trail was investigated using natural and bioengineered techniques rather than mechanical means. The impacted trail was created in November 2002 and is located off Kilometer 159 of the Dempster Highway. The methods included backfilling the impacted areas with adjacent vegetated material and transplanting plugs or islands of vegetation from donor areas in the immediate vicinity. Hand collections of seeds of various species growing on site were dispersed over some of the mitigated areas. Live willow staking was conducted at a stream crossing.
The exploration track was 1.2 km in length. Approximately half of the access trail required remediation of some form, the remainder having minimal or no disturbance. The techniques of using native material to backfill the impacted areas, and willow staking to channelize the stream flow at the lower crossing has been effective in controlling erosion and restoring the site. The hand-spread grass and sedge seeds hastened colonization on the applied areas. Although these techniques are labor intensive they definitely are effective and inexpensive, especially on a small scale. The
trail appears to be largely restored by July 2009 with some sections of the trail virtually indiscernible from the surrounding environment. It is doubtful that had the application of gravels and peat moss using dump trucks (the initial recommendation) been undertaken in 2004, the final result would not have been as successful.
