David Polster – Research Legacy
Published papers, proceedings, and resource editions
Research Archive
This archive page keeps David Polster's research resources grouped for browsing, with links to full text and downloadable PDFs where available.
Pioneer of Soil Bioengineering
David Polster advanced soil bioengineering practice in Canada from the 1980s onward through rigorous field research and documentation.
Field Research Legacy
Decades of site monitoring and published literature establish a comprehensive evidence base for bioengineering in British Columbia.
Transferable Knowledge
Documented techniques applied across mine reclamation, highway corridors, and riparian restoration throughout BC and beyond.
Founded by David Polster, M.Sc., R.P.Bio., Polster Environmental Services has developed and applied ecologically based restoration strategies in western Canada since the 1970s. Over more than four decades of practice, his work centred on understanding natural successional processes and using those processes to restore drastically disturbed sites, including mine waste dumps, landslides, riparian corridors, and dam-removal sites. This archive brings together his published works, with full text and downloadable PDFs available for each paper.
Published Works
1991
Natural Vegetation Succession and Sustainable Reclamation (1991)
Proceedings of the 15th Annual British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium, Kamloops, B.C.. Examines natural vegetation succession as the basis for sustainable mine reclamation across British Columbia.
1997
Restoration of Landslides and Unstable Slopes (1997)
BC Mine Reclamation Symposium, Cranbrook, B.C.. Application of natural successional processes to the restoration of landslides and unstable slopes.
2001
Revegetation Strategy at the Island Copper Mine (2001)
Proceedings of the 25th Annual British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium, Campbell River, B.C.. Documents the ecologically based revegetation strategy including over 500,000 Red Alder plantings on waste rock dumps at Island Copper Mine.
2003
Invasive Plant Species and Mined Land Reclamation (2003)
Proceedings of the 27th Annual British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium, Victoria, B.C.. Examines how conventional reclamation seeding with agronomic grasses and legumes promotes invasive species and provides strategies for ecologically sound alternatives.
2006
Soil Bioengineering for Riparian Restoration (2006)
Canadian Land Reclamation Association Conference. Comprehensive overview of soil bioengineering techniques, including wattle fences, live stakes, and brush layers, for treating unstable streambanks and restoring riparian vegetation.
2007
Mine Reclamation Strategies in British Columbia (2007)
Canadian Land Reclamation Association Conference, Halifax, N.S.. Strategic overview of ecologically based mine reclamation across British Columbia, emphasizing natural successional processes.
2010
Soil Bioengineering Techniques in Riparian Restoration (2010)
Canadian Land Reclamation Association / BC Mine Reclamation Symposium. Technical description of soil bioengineering structures for riparian zone restoration, including case studies from British Columbia.
2013
Making Sites Rough and Loose for Enhancing Natural Processes (July 26, 2013)
Polster Environmental Services Ltd.. Technical guide to the excavator-based technique for creating rough and loose surface conditions that foster natural colonization by pioneering species and reduce reliance on seeding and planting.
2014
Literature Survey: Restoration of Aquatic Habitats – Northwest Territories (March 2014)
Prepared for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Yellowknife, NT. 71-page annotated bibliography of 137 articles on riparian restoration, wetland restoration, and soil bioengineering, with a focus on Baker Creek at the Giant Mine, Yellowknife.
2015–2016
Cost-Effective Strategies for the Restoration of Large Disturbances (c. 2015–2016)
Conference Proceedings. Compares traditional reclamation costs against natural processes approaches (rough and loose, woody debris, no agronomic seeding), and presents reported costs and ecological outcomes. Includes a cost-comparison table.
2016
Natural Processes for the Restoration of Drastically Disturbed Sites (2016)
American Society for Surface Mining and Reclamation, Spokane, WA. Demonstrates how natural successional processes can be harnessed for the restoration of mines and other drastically disturbed sites across western Canada.
2017
Let Nature Do the Work: Restoration Strategies Following Dam Removal (2017)
American Society for Surface Mining and Reclamation. Case study of the BC Hydro Heber River Dam removal and subsequent ecological restoration, documenting natural establishment of over 5,400 alder seedlings per hectare.
Presentations and Technical Resources
The Role of Seeding in Reclamation of Disturbed Sites
Polster Environmental Services Ltd.. Presentation reviewing case studies in which agronomic grass and legume seeding limited ecological recovery from the Elk Valley, Island Copper Mine, NWT well sites, and the Heber River Dam removal.
Use of Natural Successional Processes to Inform Vegetation Management – A Yukon Example
Polster Environmental Services Ltd.. Presentation demonstrating how understanding plant succession allows cost-effective roadside and right-of-way management, avoiding the "early successional treadmill" of repeated brush cutting.
Erosion Control Products for Moisture-Sensitive Slopes
Polster Environmental Services Ltd.. Case study comparison of conventional erosion control products versus soil bioengineering techniques (wattle fences, live cuttings) for treating unstable, moisture-sensitive slopes.
About David Polster
David Polster earned an M.Sc. in Ecology from the University of British Columbia and was a Registered Professional Biologist (R.P.Bio.) in British Columbia. He founded Polster Environmental Services Ltd. (PES), based in Duncan, B.C. His approach is rooted in the observation that natural disturbances such as glaciation, landslides, and volcanic eruptions have been "restored" by natural processes for millions of years. This idea informed his mine reclamation practice and publications across Canada.
For consulting services or further information about David Polster's work, contact Polster Environmental Services Ltd.
2013 mine reclamation paper
Polster, D.F. 2013. Processes and Functions: A New Approach for Mine Reclamation. Paper presented at the B.C. Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation, BC Mine Reclamation Symposium, Vancouver, British Columbia, September 16 to 19, 2013.
The paper frames reclamation around the filters that prevent recovery and the ecological processes and functions that can address them. See the related Filters to Recovery resource for a focused introduction to that concept.
Connaught tunnel muck: 1984–2003
A David Polster field record from Roger’s Pass, showing how a rough-and-loose tunnel-muck disturbance developed after tree and shrub planting.
Tree and shrub planting began on the raw Connaught tunnel-muck disturbance.
Source: David Polster’s Roger’s Pass / Connaught tunnel-muck course records and field photographs. The viewpoints vary between years, so this is a dated succession record rather than a fixed-camera survey comparison. It is separate from the Mount Macdonald West Portal sequence.
Rogers Pass Vent Shaft slope: four decades of live staking
David Polster's Rogers Pass record follows an over-steepened Vent Shaft access-road slope from 1985 through early establishment and mature woody growth in 1999.
An over-steepened access-road slope beside the Vent Shaft was ready for live-staking treatment.
Source: David Polster, Segment RPP Vent Shaft slope. The dates and site description come from the source deck; viewpoints vary, so this is a documented field progression rather than a fixed-camera survey comparison.
Stockett steam treatment: a dated field record
David Polster's Stockett record follows rail-right-of-way plots from before treatment through the 1992 growing season and a later July 1993 field view.
The Stockett rail-right-of-way plots before the steam treatment record begins.
Source: David Polster's Segment Steam Development and Segment Ecol VM Steam Machine records. This is a historical research and field-progression record, not a current PES client project or a fixed-camera survey comparison. The original scans are modest in resolution and have been prepared as responsive WebP derivatives.
Beaver Pit at Roger's Pass: a dated succession record
David Polster's Beaver Pit record is a useful cautionary companion to successful before and after stories. The 1988 and 1999 frames show planted late-successional trees struggling on a gravel borrow pit while natural pioneer processes take time to arrive.
A borrow pit at Roger's Pass, with late-successional trees planted into the gravel surface.
Source: David Polster's Beaver Pit succession records and the matching Rogers Pass research deck. The original archive frames are modest in resolution and have been prepared as responsive WebP derivatives. This is a historical research record, not a current PES client project or a fixed-camera survey comparison.
RPP early wattle fences: slope recovery over 23 years
David Polster's field record follows a 53° till slope over a 5 m rock cut from pre-treatment condition through wattle installation and long-term woody cover.
The source deck records a 53° till slope over a 5 m rock cut before treatment.
Source: David Polster's Segment RPP Early Wattle Fences record. The dates and slope description come from the source deck; viewpoints vary, so this is a documented field progression rather than a fixed-camera survey comparison. It is a historical research record, not a current PES client-project claim. The original scans have been prepared as responsive WebP derivatives.
Wascana Creek: building a living shoreline
David Polster's field record follows a downtown Regina channel from completed bank work through willow cuttings, emergent planting, and a developing riparian edge.
The source record shows the restored channel and treated banks after the main construction work.
Source: David Polster's Segment Wascana Creek new record. The source deck describes wave erosion on existing dikes, willow cuttings in soil wraps, a wave protection zone, and emergent aquatic planting. These viewpoints vary, so this is a documented historical field progression rather than a fixed-camera survey comparison or a current PES client-project claim. The original scans have been prepared as responsive WebP derivatives.
Colomac Mine: restoration planning and later vegetation
David Polster's Colomac record connects 2010 restoration planning with field views from 2017, showing why landform, substrate, moisture, and pioneer plants all matter in mine recovery.
Aerial Colomac Mine context shown during the 2010 restoration strategy development.
Source: David Polster's Segment Colomac Mine new record, which describes 2010 restoration strategy development, rough-and-loose landform treatment, pioneering species, wetland planting, and paired 2010 and 2017 field views. The available images use changing viewpoints, so this is a documented historical progression rather than a fixed-camera survey comparison or a current PES client-project claim. The source-deck frames and archive photographs have been prepared as responsive WebP derivatives.