In 2014, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) initiated a Play-Based Regulation (PBR) pilot project as a step towards implementation of the Unconventional Regulatory Framework. One of the goals of the PBR pilot is to encourage companies in the unconventional play area to work together on plans for surface development to minimize the numbers of facilities and surface impacts. This dataset is one of a series created using earth observation imagery to assess surface change caused by energy exploration.
The PBR area extends from Twp. 52, Rge. 7, W 5th Mer. to Twp. 70, Rge. 5, W 6th Mer., covering the towns of Edson, Fox Creek, Mayerthorpe, Whitecourt, Swan Hills, and Valleyview.
For this digital data release, a land use and land cover classification dataset was derived from 2005 Landsat multispectral imagery for the PBR pilot area. The classification contains 13 classes: 0 - unclassified, 1 - exposed land/cut blocks/harvested areas, 2 - water bodies, 3 - transitional bare surfaces, 4 - mixed developed areas, 5 - developed areas, 6 - shoal, 7 - shrub land, 8 - grassland, 9 - agriculture areas, 10 - coniferous forest, 11 - broadleaf forest, and 12 - mixed forest. These categories can be used as baseline data for planning, managing and monitoring surface infrastructure needs and impacts.