The Alberta Oil Sands, centered near Fort McMurray, is producing millions of barrels of oil per day.  The oil is extracted from bitumen deposits in sand beds buried beneath the surface.  Bitumen is mined using open pit techniques, or in some areas by steam techniques.   Approximately 1/2 of the area disturbed by mining is wetland, most of which are fens and bogs.  I am part of a multi university team sponsored by CONRAD (Canadian Oil Sands Network for Research and Development) and NSERC to test methods for reclaiming watersheds to support peat accumulating fens.  This project in cooperation with University of Waterloo (Drs. Jonathan Price and Richard Petrone) and the University of Calgary (Dr. Maria Strack), Canada is using a novel watershed design and complex factorial design to test processes of fen initiation.  CSU graduate student Andrea Borkenhagen are leading the effort on plant establishment.