Reporter’s Note

I grew up in Jasper National Park, Alberta. It wasn’t until I worked for the Alberta Government as a field technician in 2013 that I knew what a seismic line was. With the Alberta government, I would travel the province, going to remote locations by helicopter to collect plants. I was surprised that Alberta was covered with crisscrossing and zig-zagging lines. When I came to Carleton University and was asked to choose a topic for my master’s research project, I knew I wanted to research seismic lines. For this story, I traveled across northern Alberta over a period of a year. I met with industry, politicians, government workers, environmentalists, and Indigenous peoples. I would like to thank everyone that spoke to me and shared their stories and knowledge. Also my advisor Klaus Pohler, and Ashley Hillman for helping me obtain data and maps on seismic lines.