UWR | u-9-002 | OVCA-3
Region: Peace
Legal under OGAA: Yes
Legal under FRPA: Yes
Notes: SP_OVCA-003 SAXON CREEK SOUTH
- Escape terrain (steep slopes, including cliffs, windswept alpine ridges, and rocky escarpments),
- Winter range (used for foraging in the winter months, lambing may also take place on the winter range).
- Winter foraging commonly occurs on grassland habitats adjacent to escape terrain.
- Minimize disturbance and ensure that activities do not disrupt behaviour of adult females and young during the lambing season.
- Maintain high suitability foraging opportunities, screening and snow interception cover.
- Maintain continued use of escape terrain.
- Maintain desired plant communities and key habitat features.
All Activities
- Plan access routes to avoid open south facing slopes and forested movement trails connecting to mineral licks.
- Identify key habitat features using appropriate measures (i.e. QP direction, desktop review, field confirmation, etc) and plan activities within the operating area accordingly.
- Time works such that they occur outside of the critical timing window.
- Apply the appropriate survey and setback requirements for WHFs within identified habitat. (Refer to section 1.9 of the EPMG for additional guidance on WHFs).
Linear Features
All:
- Minimize access into escape terrain.
All Activities
- Undertake construction and operation of oil and gas activities in a manner that minimizes impacts to desired plant communities and key habitat features.
Timing considerations when working within identified habitat:
- Avoid disturbance and/or clearing activities within know birthing areas during the critical timing window May 1 to July 15.
- Where an application area is within a NEBC UWR for Bighorn Sheep, please refer to the EIMS summary for that Order. Proponents are required to adhere to the guidance provided in that summary, including any relevant timing considerations.
Linear Features
All
- Avoid creation of linear features within known birthing areas.
- Upon completion of the activity, undertake the following measures to encourage re-establishment of the pre-disturbance ecological trajectory:
- deactivate unnecessary access corridors,
- undertake measures to control access,
- promote natural or assisted regeneration.
Roads:
- Create breaks in snow berms where snow ploughing is necessary and roadside snow berms reach greater than 1.5m in height.
Seismic and Pipelines:
- Retain breaks in pipe section, soil stockpile and windrows
General Wildlife Measures
No roads or trails
Retain all forest cover
Established as high elevation winter range to maintain large unfragmented (road-less) habitat for caribou.
No roads or impacts to forest cover.
Retain large contiguous blocks of mid to high elevation forest associated with arboreal and terrestrial lichen.
Minimize disturbance in winter period (Nov01-Apr30) critical activity to be completed early winter (Nov01-Jan30).
Prevent disturbances that increase predator mobility, human access and attract other ungulate species.
Reduce sensory disturbances and displacement of caribou.
Avoid:
-
Peatlands complexes
-
Fens and black spruce bogs
-
Complex water bodies
-
Mature coniferous stands (associated with arboreal lichen)
Lichen bearing stands
Planning Measures:
No roads or trails. No impacts to forest cover.
Prevent fragmentation.
No new linear corridors or disturbances.
Avoid lichen bearing forest stands and old forest (>120 years old)
Operational Measures:
Minimize disturbance in winter period (Nov01-Apr30) critical activity to be completed early winter (Nov01-Jan30).
Coordinate access.
Prevent sensory disturbance and displacement of caribou.
Minimize predator mobility and attractants
Minimize snow ploughing
Minimize impacts to lichen:
- use snow cover and frozen ground to prevent ground disturbance
- retain trees for dispersal of lichen
Mitigate and restore:
- Manage for line of sight (screens/doglegs)
- Promptly deactivate access
- Expedite the regeneration of lichen bearing conifers