The process of strip-mining for coal, begun in the 1930's, has left its mark on the Estevan area: gouged land, massive piles of soil and rock, and destruction of both the vegetative cover and wildlife habitat.
The reclamation experiments of the 70's, sponsored by the Saskatchewan Power Corporation, were not going well. By 1975, mines were working at the 80-foot level and the spoil piles of undesirable material kept growing.
But in 1980, Saskatchewan Power gave a one-year reclamation contract to Ron St. Onge and good things started to happen. Ron latched on to this formidable reclamation task and made it his life's work, treating the land as his own.
And what land it was: an "inhospitable bunch of something that nobody ever described as dirt;" soil so hard it broke machinery; rocks so sharp they punctured many a tire. The equipment Ron had to use was far from state of the art. He had to cut, weld, modify, fix, and create things to keep the wheels of the project turning.
But Ron proved to be tougher than both the land and the uncooperative equipment. He's described as a person of fierce determination and persistence, a conscientious man, intuitive with a stewardship attitude. 20 years later and officially retired, Ron is still on the project. His phenomenal achievements in soil reclamation have set industry standards.
SSCA was honoured to present this year's Award of Merit to Ron St. Onge, a pioneer and leader in land stewardship.