Wildlife Habitat Area | 9-004
Region: Peace
Legal under OGAA: No
Legal under FRPA: Yes
General Wildlife Measures
No roads and limit impacts to forest cover.
Established to maintain critical habitat for mountain goat such as natal areas and escape terrain.
No roads
Limit impacts to forest cover.
Minimize access, human disturbance and noise.
No disturbance during natal times (Apr15-Jul15).
Avoid:
mineral licks,
escape terrain,
steep south facing slopes
west facing windswept ridges
conifer bluffs
Shrubs and grass communities.
Planning Measures:
No new roads and limit impacts to forest cover
Maintain WHA in natural state
Maintain limiting habitat including
- Natal areas
- Escape terrain (rocky, steep and/or rough terrain)
When planning, consider the maintenance of connectivity between high and low elevation winter range and key habitat features including:
- Low elevation forested winter range
- Summer forage sites
- Winter forest cover
- Kidding areas
Operational Measures:
Prevent human disturbance
Minimize access to limit disturbance
Avoid invasion of non-indigenous plants
Minimize disturbance April 15-July 15
Do not use helicopters during critical times
Deactivate non-permanent roads after use.
Limit road use during natal times (Apr15-Jul15)
Do not use helicopters during critical times.
Control access and encourage rapid natural regeneration on seismic lines to limit hunting and poaching
- Escape terrain (steep slopes including cliffs, windswept alpine ridges, and rocky escarpments),
- Foraging areas adjacent to escape terrain. (shrubs and grass communities).
- Steep south and south-west facing slopes, windswept ridges, conifer bluffs, snow shedding slopes.
- Mineral licks and connectivity trails.
- Minimize disturbance and ensure that activities do not disrupt behaviour of adult females and young during the lambing season.
- Maintain continued use of escape terrain, adjacent foraging areas, and natal areas by Mountain Goat.
- Maintain desired plant communities and key habitat features.
All Activities
- 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 (roads, pipelines, seismic)
All:
- Minimize linear disturbance as they enhance predator mobility especially near critical areas.
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.
- Minimize noise and use of mechanical clearing and activity in identified habitat.
Timing considerations when working within identified habitat:
- When working within identified habitat, avoid disturbance and/or clearing activities within know birthing areas during the critical timing window from May 15 to July 15.
- Where an application area is within a NEBC UWR or WHA for Mountain Goat, 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
- 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.
ABA Guidance
Only activties with no locational flexibility, or no alternate routing, should be considered within this UWR.
Applications require a Mitigation Strategy