Open to: All BCIA Registrants and Guests with Guest accounts.

Join the BCIA Vancouver Branch for an engaging professional development presentation with Dr. Steven Tannas, P.Ag., P.Biol., exploring the complexities of ecological reclamation in grassland and arid environments across Western Canada.

Drawing on more than two decades of consulting and research experience, Steven will share practical approaches, research findings, and lessons learned from both successful and challenging reclamation projects.

About the Presentation

Reclamation in natural ecosystems can often seem like an impossible task. These environments have developed over thousands of years through complex interactions between climate, geology, topography, vegetation, wildlife, and natural disturbance regimes. Although they may appear to exist in perfect balance, these ecosystems are constantly changing.

Understanding the ecological processes that shape these dynamic systems is essential for developing effective restoration and reclamation strategies.

This challenge becomes particularly significant in grassland and arid environments, where limited nutrients, moisture availability, and slower ecological succession mean that even small management decisions can have lasting impacts on reclamation outcomes.

Through examples from ongoing research and practical field experience, Dr. Tannas will explore the principles behind successful reclamation, highlighting both successes and failures encountered in Western Canadian ecosystems.

What You'll Learn

Participants will gain insight into:

• The ecological complexities of reclaiming grasslands and arid environments.

• How climate, soils, disturbance regimes, and biological interactions influence restoration success.

• The importance of understanding natural successional pathways when developing reclamation plans.

• Practical challenges and solutions for reclamation in nutrient-poor and moisture-limited environments.

• Lessons learned from field research, reclamation projects, and ongoing studies across Western Canada.

Meet the Presenter

Dr. Steven Tannas, Ph.D., P.Ag., P.Biol., QWSP - Senior Vegetation Ecologist and Restoration Ecologist

Steven Tannas is the owner of Tannas Conservation Services Ltd. and specializes in rangeland management, native plant propagation, rare species, wetland ecology, and ecological restoration. With 22 years of environmental consulting experience and 20 years in research, Steven has worked extensively across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. His research includes fescue grassland reclamation, mine soil amendments, rare species propagation, and phytoremediation using native plants.

Alongside his wife, Eileen, Steven also owns GP Restoration Solutions Inc., which develops native seed harvesting equipment and floating island systems, and Eastern Slopes Rangeland Seeds Ltd., a native plant nursery. Steven is currently updating his family's plant identification book series, Common Plants of the Western Rangelands, originally published by Kathy Tannas.

Registration Information

To get the most out of this presentation, advance registration is required. Registered participants will receive event access information prior to the presentation.

We look forward to welcoming you for an informative discussion on the science and practice of ecological reclamation in Western Canada!