The Field Research Office (FRO) is canvassing the field research community to determine how many researchers encounter H2S (hydrogen sulfide or sour gas) hazards.  FRO has been exploring the Alberta Well Finder App; it provides users an easy way to determine the location of sour gas wells on maps and where they are in proximity to their research site.

Please answer the following quick survey. We will be compiling this data to determine the feasibility of providing the Well Finder App as an additional tool to mitigate H2S Hazards.

Last year, Transportation Services discontinued the ability to rent vehicles for a short term (under seven days). 

Some good news for field researchers: Transportation Services has reinstated its less-than-seven-day rental option effective immediately. 

Please use Transportation Service Registration System. Even though there is a message that less than seven day rental will not be honoured, they will allow you to book at this time. If researchers have any specific questions, they can reach out via email to vehinfo@ualberta.ca or call 780-492 -1920.

Wildfire season will begin on March 1. This means that fire permits will be required for burning within the Forest Protection Area. 

Please consult the Alberta Wildfire Map for current conditions and the Field Incident Response page for resources on managing wildfire hazards.

Remember to check fire bans or restrictions (Fire Ban Map) already in place for Alberta.  You can also check Alberta Provincial Parks website for fire bans in the provincial parks. Field researchers are required to follow these restrictions/bans; fines can be issued for non-compliance. Researchers can access this Alberta Government site to find active fire advisories, restrictions, bans, forest closures, off-highway vehicle restrictions and allowable activities. 

INDUSTRIAL WILDIFE CONTROL PLANS

If you have research operations within 1 km of public land in Alberta from Mar. 1 to Nov. 30, the Industrial Wildfire Control Plan (IWCP) is a mandatory requirement under the Forest and Prairie Protection Act.

This plan provides information to Agriculture and Forestry where your employees are working full-time to increase employee safety in the event of a wildfire emergency.

The Alberta government requires companies that operate manned facilities on public land to create, update and activate Industrial Wildfire Control Plans. 

All IWCPs have been made inactive as of Jan 1, 2026. If you had a IWCP last year you would have received the following message:

Note that we have inactivated IWCP's for the 2026 fire season and you are required to update the data and re-activate the plan in order for Alberta Wildfire to be able to access the data for emergency purposes.

PLEASE NOTE that the process for access the IWCP application has changed.

You are required to have an Alberta.ca Account for business.

It is IMPORTANT that active users link their previous accounts.

Steps:
Log into your Alberta.ca Account for business. Get added to your company if you have not been added yet.

Click on the "Log in to IWCP" button here:  https://www.alberta.ca/firesmart#jumplinks-1 

IT will direct you to the below screen select "YES" to link you old account. If you do not remember your Securexnet password, use the "Forgot Password" tool linked at the bottom. 

Once your account has been linked you should have seamless access and your information is transferred over.

From thereon in, just click on the "Log in to IWCP" button, and use your Alberta.ca for business account to access IWCP.

Please note that all IWCPs need to be updated and activated to ensure that Alberta Wildfire has the most accurate data to support wildfire priorities and life safety during fire season

Find out more about the requirements for IWCPs and view user resources from the alberta.ca/firesmart web page.

For account-related changes (i.e. updating your official email address or company name) or applying for access to any new accounts, email aep.accountmgt@gov.ab.ca.

For all other user support inquiries for IWCP, please email aws.service@gov.ab.ca.

The FASP/FSSP is transitioning to an online smart form within the University of Alberta Safety Hub (formerly UofALABSYNC) in the next few months and will be available as an option for the upcoming field season for people to trial. The FASP/FSSP Google Doc templates will be phased out by 2027.  If you are wanting to trial the new process, please email fieldoff@ualberta.ca.

If you plan on working in the field shortly and your activities are assessed at a risk level 2 (medium) to level 5 (Extreme), you are required to take Field Research Safety Training (eLearning and the in-person sessions). Please register using the Google form. Certificates will not be issued if participants fail to attend. You are required to take the training every three years. 

The following sessions will be held in 2-25 (Tamarack Room), Materials Management Building: 

Tuesday, March 3, 9 am - 12 pm 
Thursday, April 9, 9 am - 12 pm
Tuesday, April 21, 9 am - 12 pm
Tuesday, May 6, 9:00 am to 12 pm
Tuesday, May 14, 9:00 am to 12 pm
Tuesday, May 22, 9:00 am to 12 pm
Tuesday, May 27, 9:00 am to 12 pm
Tuesday, June 10, 9:00 am to 12 pm
Tuesday, June 16, 9:00 am to 12 pm
Tuesday, July 7, 9:00 am to 12 pm
Tuesday, July 21, 9:00 am to 12 pm

For Field Schools:    Instructors and other staff leading/teaching at field schools are required to take both online eLearning and in-person sessions. Field School participants are required to complete the online eLearning training but not the in-person sessions as the Field School Lead(s) will provide detailed safety orientation to the group, which includes a review of the hazard assessment and controls, emergency response plan, daily safety briefings, and Go/No-Go Tool.  See the HSE Requirements for Field Schools and Field Trips.

Q. What actions are required for researchers before accessing a privately-owned property where they plan to conduct research?

If you are conducting research on grazing lease lands, Crown land or private land, you will need to get permission to access. Even on Crown or public lands, you may need approval. For example, if companies have a disposition, the land is leased for grazing or a trapper has a line. It is important to understand and comply with any conditions for entering the property.

Thanks to the Faculty of Science Safety Officer, Christine Williams, who determined there is a new process for this and now we are sharing this with the community.

For site access on private property related to research, see B13 on the Contract Review and Signing Authority policy.  

A contract specialist with Research Administrative Services (VPR) deals with these types of letters requesting access to land. 

Submit an amendment within the Researcher homepage. Instructions on how to request an amendment is found here.

When filling out the amendment, provide any letters that have been drafted in the request as a reference for the Contract Specialist. 

A contract specialist will contact the researcher directly if they require additional details. 

We recently updated the information on our Permissions webpage.